Why False Positives Merit Concern, Too - The New York Times

Why False Positives Merit Concern, Too - The New York Times

"...False positives, which incorrectly identify a healthy person as infected by the virus, can have serious consequences as well, especially in places where the virus is scarce.

...Some rapid tests, which forgo sophisticated laboratory equipment and can deliver results in under an hour, have been criticized for returning high numbers of false positives, especially when used to screen people without symptoms. 

Even laboratory tests that rely on a very reliable technique called polymerase chain reaction, or P.C.R., have been known to return the occasional false positive...Read all.