HEALTHCARE

Coronavirus in Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine's false-positive test wouldn't count in state's COVID-19 case total

Jessie Balmert Cincinnati Enquirer
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was tested for the novel coronavirus in late June to demonstrate how the test works.

COLUMBUS – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's false-positive test for COVID-19 wouldn't count toward the state's novel coronavirus total, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed on Friday.

DeWine tested positive for the novel coronavirus Thursday morning using an antigen test. Hours later, he tested negative using a more sensitive test called the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR.

The news gave some Ohioans whiplash – and caused them to question the state's count of novel coronavirus cases: 92,273 confirmed and 5,198 probable as of Thursday afternoon.

"If this can happen to you, then how (are) we to believe all these test results?" one man asked on DeWine's Facebook post announcing the governor hadn't contracted the virus.

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"How many 'positives' are being counted falsely in the rolling, scary red letters across your TV’s 24/7?" another woman questioned.

Here are the facts, according to the Ohio Department of Health: DeWine's false-positive test would not have counted toward the state's case total.

For someone to count as a "confirmed" case, they must test positive for the virus using a PCR test. DeWine, his wife and his staff tested negative for COVID-19 on a PCR test administered by Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center Thursday.

But would DeWine have counted in that second category, probable cases?

Someone is included in this count if they test positive for COVID-19 using another test – like the antigen one DeWine took Thursday morning or an antibody, blood test – and have other symptoms of COVID-19 or were in close contact with someone known to have contracted the virus.

The positive antigen test alone would not have qualified DeWine as a probable case. DeWine had a headache but showed no symptoms of COVID-19, so the governor wouldn't have met the threshold of becoming a probable case, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said.

Okay, DeWine isn't on the list, but are there other false positives lurking in Ohio's probable case total? It's impossible to say for sure, but antigen testing isn't widespread in the state so it's unlikely the figure is very high. Still, The Enquirer asked Ohio Department of Health for a total of probable cases linked to antigen tests.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn't approve the use of antigen tests, which detect the presence of proteins on the surface of the virus, until May. The tests haven't been widespread nationally or in Ohio.

"The vast majority of Ohioans would have received a PCR test," Tierney said. That matches Ohio Department of Health's case numbers: Just 5.3% of the state's cases were added using another method than a lab test.