Don’t Test Too Soon or It May Not Show COVID

You may be running the risk of visiting a testing site too early, after a colleague tests positive for COVID-19 at your work place. Dr. Musa recommends that you also get tested at least three days after a colleague tests positive, if you suspect that you were exposed.

Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Deputy Regional Health Manager, Central Health Region

“We try to advise persons coming in for testing, if you and I work together, and you tested positive this morning when you left work, i will not test positive right away. So, I need to then isolate for three days and then come and get tested. We don’t want people to go out with a negative test within two hours of exposure to say, oh I’m negative and then take down your mask and let your guard down. Then, three days later, everybody that you have been around having to be tested, and then you have to be re-tested. So, that is very important, especially if you are symptomatic, sometimes you may be testing too early, so you miss that time frame of picking up the positive test. And if do test negative, if you are symptomatic or if you are close contact, we go on to do a PCR test as well.”