Recovered, but Covid positive status tests patience

HYDERABAD: For many, recovery from Covid-19 isn’t the end of their agony as not getting a negative report even weeks later is one extra pain to deal with post-infection.

The persistence of the residual virus to stay put and not leave the body has become a source of fresh hindrance, coming in the way of resuming work from office or scuttling plans of going abroad.

“I tested positive on January 11. I had to submit a negative report to resume work from office. However, even after testing thrice, my report is still positive,” said Indranil Banerjee, an employee of a construction firm who was trying his luck for the fourth time on Friday.

In many cases people continue to test positive despite having recovered fully and all symptoms disappearing.

“I have been in isolation for the last two weeks. I don’t have any more symptoms, except some weakness. But my report is still positive. It is extremely frustrating to be stuck like this despite recovering fully as I am still positive,” said Mayur Raavi, a marketing specialist.

Pathologists said that residual RNA in the nasal mucosa triggers a positive report. In many cases, although the cycle value increases people continue to get positive reports.

“Every sample goes through 37-40 cycles. In those cycles, even if a small amount of virus is detected then it is diagnosed as Covid-19 positive. We have had a case of a student who had to travel abroad for further studies and could not get a negative report even after 19 days of recovery,” said Anirudh Reddy (strategy and operations), HealthAnalytix, a predictive analytics company that also tests Covid-19 samples.

Doctors said there was no need to panic if report continues to be positive even after recovery. “In majority of cases, isolation and symptomatic medications are enough to recover completely. People should not panic and continue to follow Covid-19 protocols. Repeated testing is not required if you don’t have symptoms,” said Dr Manabendra Ghosh, general physician who practices near Gudimalkapur crossroads.