Positive COVID-19 Tests Can Persist Months After Recovery | News, Sports, Jobs

File Photo by Derek Redd
Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department employees inform those waiting in line along Eoff Street for a COVID-19 test at the old OVMC campus in January that the line was being cut off due to the testing site closing soon.

WHEELING — While the symptoms of COVID-19 may subside days or weeks after infection, the PCR tests commonly available will continue to provide positive results, leaving the recovered with qualms about reintegration.

Wheeling-Ohio County Health Administrator Howard Gamble said the medical industry realized soon after the onset of the pandemic that even those who recover from the disease will still test positive for the presence of COVID for up to months after their full recovery.

This is what led to the determination that isolation may end and re-integration into society may be determined after several days of symptoms, rather than upon a negative test, Gamble said.

Still, he added, many people report wanting a negative test after their recovery, either for personal peace of mind or due to requirements from employers or events such as cruise ships or travel.

The demand for a second, negative test, he said, strained health department resources at times.

“We had 200 people in line to get tested at the free site, and a number of them were just getting second tests because they had already finished (isolating for) COVID.

“The simplistic view is, once an individual is positive for COVID, they may need to have a second test done to show that they are negative,” he continued. “We learned very early in the pandemic, sometime around March 2020, … that people who were positive continued to test positive, although they were no longer infectious.”

The Centers for Disease Control would later make it known that PCR tests could continue to detect the presence of COVID for up to three months after infection, while the infectious period lasts only a few days after the development of symptoms.

The isolation period begins five days from the appearance of new symptoms – Gamble said some people report being sick for months with a variety of symptoms, but without new symptoms developing past a certain point.

“We tell people nowadays, … it’s five days from your symptoms or your test date. When you’re done, you’re done,” Gamble said. “There is no second negative test, because a lot of them are under pressure from an employer that says to get a negative test before you come back to work.

” …An individual will sometimes say ‘I’ve been sick for months,’ but within that time period, did the symptoms resolve, and then new ones set in? A lot of time, the answer is yes, so they had something else. We go with the symptoms closest to testing, so you count five days from that.”

Wheeling resident Brandon Gilmore, who contracted COVID in mid-January, continues to test positive into February. While Gilmore said he’s still able to work remotely, it’s taken a toll on his mental state.

“I’m fortunate enough that I’m able to work remotely, but socializing while still testing positive has been more of a hurdle,” Gilmore said.

“Continuing to test positive even though you’re no longer sick, and the prolonged isolation that comes with that, kind of wears you down because who knows when you’ll test negative again. I’ve heard of people who have tested positive months after a bout with ‘the ‘rona,’ which is pretty disheartening to think could happen to you.”

Gamble added that while testing is an essential part of combating the COVID pandemic, he’s wary of relying on tests as the sole indicator of recovery.

“Testing in this day and age is an essential part of what we’re doing, but at times I think we’re relying too much on testing, as in, ‘I’ve tested negative, I’m good to go,’ versus ‘I’m fully vaccinated, I have no signs and symptoms and I’m testing with the understanding that at the time I was negative, but I still need to take precautions.’

“… If a person has isolated correctly, if the symptoms have resolved, especially fever, and we’re basing that off the original test or symptoms, that individual is done,” he added. “If they need to go back and get tested, which is sometimes a feel-good moment for someone else – an employer, or family and friends – but no one requires a second test that’s based on public health guidelines.”

The useful scenario for a second test, Gamble said, is confirming a positive result on a rapid test. If a rapid test provides a positive result, but the person doesn’t exhibit symptoms, a confirmatory PCR test can indicate that the person is truly negative, despite the false positive.