MetroHealth Doc Says Gov. DeWine Should Isolate After Conflicting Tests

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he is fine after receiving two conflicting COVID-19 tests results Thursday -- one positive followed by two negative results.

But MetroHealth System's Dr. Amy Ray said no test is 100 percent reliable, and DeWine should assume the positive test was the correct one. If DeWine were her patient, Dr. Ray said she would tell him to isolate at home away from other people to be safe.

“Given that we're discussing an infection that's easily transmissible, it seems to me that the prudent course of action is to assume a true positive, and allow him to undergo isolation for a probably much overdue rest that he needs,” Ray said.

Other people who have symptoms but receive a negative test should do the same, she said. None of the tests is 100 percent reliable. The results shouldn’t be used as a permission slip to socialize, Ray said.  It is safer to assume you have it, despite test results.

Dr. Peter Mohler of the Ohio State University Wexler Medical Center says Gov. DeWine took one antigen test and two PCR tests on Thursday.

Antigen testing can be faster, but not quite as accurate, Dr. Mohler said. That's the test DeWine took first that came back positive.

PCR (polymerise chain reaction) is the more widely used test in Ohio. Mohler said it's a molecular test and can be more sensitive to picking up the coronavirus. DeWine took two of them later in the day and both came back negative. 

PCR is the same test used more than 1.6 million times during the pandemic by Ohio hospitals, according to a press release from DeWine’s office.