Singaporean Returned From Australia Had False-Positive Results For Covid-19 Test
Although you can now get a Covid-19 test result pretty quickly, it’s not a fool-proof method of determining if one has Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (16 Sep) that they’d removed a case as they found that it was a false-positive test.
Case 57,107 tested negative twice after his 1st positive result, and after investigations, they determined that his 1st test was a false-positive.
In other news, all 27 Covid-19 cases reported today were asymptomatic.
Singaporean returned from Australia on 25 Aug
Case 57,107 is a 59-year-old Singaporean male who returned from Australia on 25 Aug.
He was put on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival.
During his SHN period, he tested positive for Covid-19 on 4 Sep and was recorded as having no symptoms.
However, subsequent tests returned negative.
Finding this odd, lab experts investigated his results, and an expert panel also assessed that the 1st test result was a false-positive.
Image for illustration purposes only.
Source
False-positive Covid-19 case wasn’t put in risk of infection
Although Case 57,107 tested positive, meaning he’d have to seek further treatment, MOH assured that neither him nor his contacts were exposed to risk of infection.
They also stressed that all public health actions were taken earlier.
Multiple tests safest approach
Given the possibility of a one-off false negative or positive result, perhaps the answer is that multiple tests should be the norm.
For example, workers in high-risk sectors such as construction are tested every fortnight.
Especially with the acceleration of testing now, one can never be too safe even after a negative or positive result.
False negatives can apply as well, so it’s good to remain vigilant even if you tested negative for Covid-19 before.
Featured image adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
