The Homa Files

If this true, it explains why NY is still on fire.
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First, the basics.

Only people who are symptomatic are supposed to get a coronavirus test.

If a person tests positive, they are either given clear directions to self-quarantine, or if their symptoms are severe, they are admitted to the hospital for care.

If a person doesn’t have coronavirus but tests positive, the consequences are pretty minimal: the patient is hospitalized until recovered (or the docs detect the testing error) … or the person is sent home to self-quarantine for 2 weeks. That’s basically no harm – no foul.

But, on the other hand, if a person has coronavirus and test is negative (i.e. the test misses the coronavirus), the patient is sent home (i.e. denied hospital admittance) and sent back home, believing that they’re clean of coronavirus.

English translation: they’re back in circulation not knowing that they are infected … and, most likely, infecting other people.

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Here’s the showstopper …

The WSJ is reporting that:

“Health experts  now believe nearly one in three patients who are infected are nevertheless getting a negative test result.”

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The WSJ article is based on anecdotal evidence from the field … lots of credible anecdotes.

See: Questions About Accuracy of Coronavirus Tests Sow Worry   and
The plural of “anecdotes” isn’t “data” … or is it?

Adding credibility to the story is the FDA response:

In a statement Monday, the FDA said it is balancing the need for more testing with its prerogative to ensure tests are accurate.

Right now, the FDA’s priority remains getting more tests into the field.

If these reports are true, they might explain why coronavirus is spreading like wildfire in NY … despite the stay-at-home orders.

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This entry was posted on April 2, 2020 at 11:30 am and is filed under Coronavirus - Covid 19. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.