The headlines seem wrong. If some Facebook person feels sick and if the doctor tell him he doesn’t have the virus. He goes online and says, “I was tested, it came back negative.” I suppose that is true, but not the whole truth.
This person did not use one of the rare CDC tests.
I only listen to two podcasts, Maddow and Morning Joe. A guest on one or the other ran through the steps in getting tested in China. I would appreciate someone helping me remember the testing protocol in China (and so in the US):
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You go the Corona testing tent at the hospital. They ask you some questions. After that you might be released. (“It came back negative.”)
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They give you a white blood cell count. If your WBC is high, or maybe if it is normal, you might be sick, but not with this virus. (“It came back negative.”)
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Then they shove a long cotton swab up your nose in an unpleasant procedure. Some other routine test is then run. It also can tell you if you are sick in some other non-exciting way. (“It came back negative.”)
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Only then do you get a CAT scan (in China) or the fancy CDC test (in the US). This may come back positive or negative. The only rich & famous people we know got this test are the ones who have reported they got the virus.
Am I right to say that when some movie star says she “tested negative” she may not have gotten the test that is in such short supply?