In a relief to students and the Kalaburagi district administration, the 15 students who had tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, tested negative for the virus on Saturday.
Throat swabs of 20 children of the government high school in Kalagi were collected on March 1 and the results of the 15 samples came back positive on Thursday. Suspecting something amiss, officials collected fresh samples of the “infected” students on Friday. The results on Saturday showed they were negative.
District Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr Rajashekhar Maali told DH that 172 samples including those of teachers, students and cooks were collected on Friday and all tested negative for the virus on Saturday.
“When the viral load is high, the report shows positive and when the load is less, the report comes negative. There are chances of the virus dying due to the time gap between the day the virus is contracted and the day the test is carried out,” he explained.
Chances of swab contamination during collection seem bleak. If the swabs are contaminated, everyone should test positive, the DHO clarified.
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