Why do some coronavirus patients get tests negative even after contracting coronavirus? Here is the reason why:

The total number of positive coronavirus infections has touched a shocking 6.27 million mark and the number may continue to rise as countries across the world are easing lock down restrictions. The growing number of infections and fatalities is already overwhelming the medical care system and putting an enormous amount of strain on our healthcare workers. 

Even though scientists and medical experts are working round the clock to develop a vaccine to battle coronavirus, experts believe that it may still take anywhere between 12 to 18 months.

The reason behind COVID-19 test false negatives:

In addition to the highly contagious nature of the virus, another scary aspect is the inaccuracies of the COVID-19 test which result in false negatives. A false negative is not only worrying for the patient, but he or she can also turn into a silent carrier of the novel coronavirus, without accurate results. A false negative is when the virus does not show up in the tests even though the person has contracted the infection.

As of now, there are two main types of tests for detecting COVID-19 for example RT-PCR test and antibody tests, out of which the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test are excellent in ideal conditions. The RT-PCR test is a molecular test for which swabs are taken from the far back of the nose and mouth, while the antibody test is done by collecting blood samples.

The case of false negatives

There have been a lot of reported cases of mild symptoms snowballing into a severe coronavirus illness as the diagnostic tests dismissed the presence of novel coronavirus. So, even when a patient has clear symptoms of COVID-19 and CT scan shows a clear indication of the disease, if the swab test is negative, the person cannot be admitted to designated COVID-19 hospitals.

In fact early research is indicating that as many as 30 per cent of patients are battling the problem of false negatives and with no direct mandate from the government, their only option is to practice caution and quarantine themselves for the safety of others. In fact as more and more people are getting tested for the virus, experts believe that the results may not be completely accurate.

Why are we getting false negatives results:

First things first. The problem with diagnostic tests for the COVID-19 virus is that it is has been bought into use without being tested extensively. This is because the sheer magnitude of the outbreak did not give enough time to the experts and tests had to be developed at a breakneck speed.

The problem with collecting and processing specimens

Experts also believe that how the specimens are collected may have a lot to do with false negatives than the tests themselves. For example, if the swab of the nose is not taken correctly from the far back of the nose and the mouth (where the virus supposedly places itself in the mucous membranes), there may not be enough of virus in the sample to detect in the test.

Who is at risk?

People of all ages can be infected by the new coronavirus (Covid-19). Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.


WHO (World Health Organization) advises people of all ages to take steps to protect themselves from the virus, for example by following good hand hygiene and good respiratory hygiene.

Also Read: How to Boost Your Immune System?