A 56-year-old woman was diagnosed with Covid-19 after testing negative for it eight times before.
According to Sichuan Online, the woman from Sichuan, China surnamed Tang, had returned to her hometown in Anyue on 23rd January for Chinese New Year.
She then found out that one of her colleagues at the hotel got infected by the virus, leading Tang to be placed under quarantine on 2nd February.
Over the period of time spent in quarantine from 7th to 23rd February, a total of eight tests were conducted on Tang via throat swabs.
Medical workers then carried out nucleic acid detection tests using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) techniques to determine if she was infected with Covid-19.
The results of the eight tests came back negative.
On 21st February, Tang was transferred to another hospital in Ziyang city. Three days later, she was tested again with further clinical and laboratory tests and was confirmed to be infected with Covid-19.
This shows that the incubation period could be more than two weeks as Tang had been quarantined for almost three weeks and tested negative for the virus.
While the incubation period lasts about 14 days, there have been cases where the incubation period lasted 24 days!
This means that the early-identification methods used might have defects, resulting in many infected people not being discovered.
We know Malaysia is going through a political crisis now, but we should not downplay the fact that the Covid-19 is still spreading in various countries around the globe. Thankfully, Malaysia only has two Covid-19 patients left in the country who are in a stable condition.
Also read: Expert: Incubation Period of Wuhan Coronavirus Can Last As Long As 24 Days Instead of 14
