False-negative COVID-19 tests may lead to a “second wave of infection”

A special report from the Mayo Clinic warns that health care providers and officials must be aware of the limitations of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing and the potential for false negatives.  The article emphasizes that clinical and public health decisions should not be heavily reliant on the results of COVID-19 tests. The experts suggest that RT-PCR testing is accurate in diagnosing infection, but not as reliable in ruling it out.  Study co-author Dr. Priya Sampathkumar is an infectious diseases specialist at the Mayo Clinic. "RT-PCR testing …