Covid Positive twice in three months?

[ProudAuntie76]

Hello, can someone tell me if this is possible?

Covid acquired in hospital after operation in August. Tested negative two weeks later. Mild symptoms at the time, loss of smell, fatigue.

Not been anywhere at all since except corner shop once a week and a couple of walks round block a week (elderly and vulnerable so housebound but needed trip for mental health). Every person they’ve been in contact with has tested negative this weekend. They’ve tested positive again as part of a mass testing.

How is it possible? False positive? Still some Covid lingering from August? New infection picked up at corner shop?

Very worried as they live with a Shielder who we managed to protect last time (isolated after hospital stay) but this time has been in close contact.

No one can tell you for sure but I thought when the tests first came out they said they were only 70% accurate. That doesn't seem to be discussed in the media any more...

@Fittata

No one can tell you for sure but I thought when the tests first came out they said they were only 70% accurate. That doesn't seem to be discussed in the media any more...

Thanks. I assumed this was false negatives though. Worried sick now, would be really helpful if straight answers were available from government/nhs etc.

I know of a friend who is a doctor who's tested positive twice since July. With multiple weekly negative tests in between so most likely caught it twice.

I have zero clue how that works and neither does he.

You can catch different strains twice. And local corner shop will be small, not ventilated and have lots of people walking through, so likely somewhere easy to catch it.
The tests are far more accurate than 70% now

It’s all so confusing.

The corner shop is a Tesco Express with a traffic light system in and out and everyone wearing masks. Really naively thought he’d be safe going once a week. Especially as he’d already had it.

They’ve tested positive again as part of a mass testing.

The rapid result LAMP tests used in the mass testing (in Liverpool) are not as accurate as the PCR tests.

They should ideally be confirming positives by getting people who take the tests and test positive to take a confirmatory PCR test, but I don't think they are doing this.

It's also possible to have traces of the original infection, but PCR tests are also more likely to pick up those. Average time is up to 17 days, but for a small number of people it can be much longer, up to around 80 days.

Have worked out it’s 10 weeks since his original Covid positive swab. The person helped him get to the shop and went in with him (as he’s very vulnerable) each week has tested negative as has the household. I thought immunity was 5-7 months regardless of strain. 10 weeks is potentially so worrying. He has no symptoms at all and temperature normal every single day but has been more confused recently (part of his illness).

It was a PCR

And also thank you, sorry didn’t mean to be rude and not thank you...Head is in a spin. So worried about my immediate family member who lives with him and is as high risk as they come.

Lots of false positives - retest ASAP if possible.

When was this latest test done OP? If recent perhaps you can get another test done now and see if result is repeated. In the meantime I would be as careful as possible re shielding household member. If this is a genuine positive then even though there has been close contact it may well not have been passed on, so worthwhile still being cautious.

Family member who is a nurse tested twice (with symptoms) twice in just over three months. It’s definitely a thing.

Is it not more strange that the person tested negative after just two weeks? Generally people test positive for up to 90 days and much longer than two weeks. They test positive long after they stop being infectious. I would imagine that if they had it in August they are still testing positive from the original infection, with a false negative after two weeks. Do you know why they were tested after two weeks as generally that is not recommended

It is shit but the only way to stay absolutely safe is to.stay in your home and no one in the house go out and have no one in either. My fil is very vuilnerable and has not left his home since March apart from to sit in his garden with a mask on. He has mobility issues so would not go far anyhow but my poor mil has stayed in with him as she is so afraid she could go out, catch it and give it to fil. They don't use internet either so we keep having to order wool and jigsaws for them and food shop to be delivered. My mil has it put in garage and won't touch it for 3 days. I don't know how long they can go on like it. I think it is possible to catch it twice or even three times. I have read antibodies in your blood give you immunity for only for 10-12 weeks.

The shortest time between two positive tests where it has been proven to be reinfection was just 48 days so three months is definitely possible. The false negative rate is about 30% and will be fairly constant for each type of test and swabbing method so repeating the same test after getting a positive is fairly pointless as there's a high chance of getting a negative result even if infected.

The likelihood of the test being a false positive depends a lot on the incidence rate of covid in the local area. When the incidence rate is the same as the false positive rate then there's a 50% chance that the result is a false positive. We see this with HIV tests in the UK as the incidence of HIV is so low - even with a positive HIV test in the UK you probably don't have HIV. Take the same exact test in South Africa where the incidence is very high then you almost certainly do have HIV.

The false positive rate for covid tests is less than 0.5% (we can tell this because positivity rates have been this low at certain points in the epidemic in the UK). I'm assuming that since this test was part of mass testing that the incidence rate in the local area is quite high, say 5%. So, if 1000 people are tested, 50 actually have the virus, 35 of them get a positive test and a further 5 get a false positive for a total of 40 positive tests. The chance of not having covid if you have positive test in this situation is 5 in 40 or 12.5%.

TL;DR this person almost certainly has caught covid for a second time and another test is pointless as a negative result is likely to be a false negative.

The dead cells can be picked up by a test for up to 90 days.

@ProudAuntie76

Have worked out it’s 10 weeks since his original Covid positive swab. The person helped him get to the shop and went in with him (as he’s very vulnerable) each week has tested negative as has the household. I thought immunity was 5-7 months regardless of strain. 10 weeks is potentially so worrying. He has no symptoms at all and temperature normal every single day but has been more confused recently (part of his illness).

There is no reliable data on how long immunity lasts.

Thanks for the input. Such a worrying time.

Re why was he tested again after two weeks? It was the hospital that repeated the test so he’d be able to go home to live with the Shielding family member. Then he had another test at the end of September to allow him to go back to hospital for a very short procedure (you have to have the test three days before your appointment). So a positive ten weeks ago, followed by a negative 8 weeks ago and another negative 5 and a half weeks ago and a positive this weekend. Mild symptoms first time round, no symptoms this time round.

It’s not as simple as saying don’t leave the house. He was suicidal (several attempts) and his social worker said he needed to be allowed out for walks (he went at the crack of dawn round a quiet residential block) and he was advised a trip to the shop once a week (he’s not in there 15 minutes) would be a very safe thing to do and honestly, he’s lived for that weekly trip to go and pick some food, newspapers/magazines etc. Our family member who is shielded has been told to go out for walks and to attend all medical appointments so presumably even through that they are being put at great risk if you can pick it up in 15 mins in a shop while social distancing, wearing a mask, washing hands etc.

So fed up with this. I see people breaking the rules all the time, having no regard at all and not catching it. Yet someone who has stuck to all the rules, in fact been extremely strict with themselves has had it twice.

@janetmendoza

Is it not more strange that the person tested negative after just two weeks? Generally people test positive for up to 90 days and much longer than two weeks. They test positive long after they stop being infectious. I would imagine that if they had it in August they are still testing positive from the original infection, with a false negative after two weeks. Do you know why they were tested after two weeks as generally that is not recommended

I work in a nursing home and all us staff are tested weekly, and all residents monthly. Bar one exception, we’ve never had someone repeatedly test positive after their period of isolation. We were also told, maybe incorrectly, that there’s only a 5 day window that a positive can be picked up. But except for one member of staff, everyone has tested negative after their next test following a Covid positive one. The one member of staff tested positive for three months!

This is also part of why I’m frustrated...as my job is high risk I’ve been unable to help these family members in person. We’ve relied upon family who work from home and don’t have kids/get their shopping delivered etc to help.

The person who invented the test warned its flawed, it has something like a 90% false positive rate as it picks up all strains of virus not just covid.

It’s a complete waste of time and money. Total scandal.

@Namechangedforthisoct2

The person who invented the test warned its flawed, it has something like a 90% false positive rate as it picks up all strains of virus not just covid.

It’s a complete waste of time and money. Total scandal.

That is complete bollocks. Kary Mullis might have had a Nobel prize but that doesn't prevent you from turning into a complete nut job. He spent his later years ranting about how HIV doesn't cause AIDS and is possibly responsible for thousands of deaths in Africa.

@Namechangedforthisoct2

The person who invented the test warned its flawed, it has something like a 90% false positive rate as it picks up all strains of virus not just covid.

It’s a complete waste of time and money. Total scandal.

I’m not interested in hearing any conspiracy theories.

I think its worth getting him retested as it might be a false positive.

They are in the Liverpool area and they’ve already decided to test again in 10 days, having spoken to his social worker this morning and her telling them this. They order home kits so as not to wait in line so it will be another PCR.

It’s very confusing. I had covid last month and I’m desperate to see my shielding mum. I was hoping the anti-bodies would be in my system for a few months so I could at least see her and spend xmas knowing I can’t get it again so soon and she’ll be safe but the more I read up on it the more I think I’m not going to see her