Does Not Detected Mean Negative for Covid Test?

COVID-19 Negative (SARS-CoV-2 RNA Not Detected) Test Result. If your COVID-19 test was negative, this means that the test did not detect the presence of COVID-19 in your nasal secretions. This result would suggest that you are not currently infected with COVID-19.

What does a negative COVID-19 test result mean?

A negative test result for this test means that SARS- CoV-2 RNA was not present in the specimen or the RNA concentration was below the limit of detection. However, a negative result does not rule out COVID-19 and should not be used as the sole basis for treatment or patient management decisions.

Does a negative result for COVID-19 test mean I don't have the virus?

You can test negative for COVID-19 and still have it. A nasal swab test is merely a snapshot in time. In other words, receiving a negative COVID-19 test result today doesn't mean you definitely don't have the virus, but rather that there wasn't enough virus collected to register as a positive at the time of your test.