Re-positive COVID-19 PCR test: could it be a reinfection?

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak started in December 2019 and rapidly spread around the globe as a major health threat. Several reports on re-positive cases subsequent to discharge from hospitals caught our attention. We aimed to highlight real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) positivity re-detection after discharge from the isolation, with special consideration on possible reasons behind it. We found that re-positive RT-qPCR assays for SARS-CoV-2 after prior negative Results might be attributed to false-negative laboratory results and prolonged viral shedding, rather than re-infection. These findings are encouraging and should be validated in a larger cohort.