A 'negative' coronavirus test result doesn't always mean you aren't infected

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

So you have a cough and fever, and you just got test results back for the novel coronavirus: Negative!

But wait a second. Your doctor may still caution you to act like you could have it. Stay home. Self-isolate. Don’t go visit your parents.

What’s going on?

The clamor for long-delayed coronavirus testing is teaching a basic lesson about how all medical tests work: No test is 100 percent accurate. Some test results may incorrectly say that a person has a condition, but they don’t. That’s a false positive. Other tests may incorrectly say someone doesn’t have a condition, but they do. That’s a false negative, and for covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, at this stage of the outbreak, experts are more worried about this type of inaccuracy.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/a-negative-coronavirus-test-result-doesnt-always-mean-you-arent-infected/ar-BB11KbjX?li=BBnb4R7

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. And even if your cough and fever is caused by something else,

you could still transmit whatever that is to others. It could be seasonal flu, which also kills people. If you're sick, stay home, no matter what you have or think you have.

[The Magistrate]

2. Part Of That, Sir, May Be Psychological

People acting from the view they are preventing spread to others tend to be more diligent in observing proper practices against contagion than are people acting from the view they are just trying to keep themselves from catching something. It sounds paradoxical, especially to the self-centered, but the former group feels it has a responsibility to their fellows which the latter does not. It is also possible, even likely, a doctor may fear someone who has a negative test result may think themselves 'bullet-proof', and so behave in a more careless fashion.