Recovered COVID-19 Patients Found Positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA

A new study published online by the JAMA on November 12, 2020, highlights that many patients who recover from COVID-19 may be still positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, but only a minority of the patients tested may actually carry a replicating SARS-CoV-2 virus in the respiratory tract.

In this small study, only 1 of 32 patients retesting positive had the replicating virus in the sample, suggesting either recurrent infection or reinfection.

This distinction was impossible to separate because no whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were performed, said these researchers.