It is well known that people who are healthy again after a Covid can still get a positive PCR test for a while. However, this is not the case with rapid tests, the Ministry of Health confirms.
A number of people had contacted RTL with this question when the government decided that people could go to restaurants or sporting and cultural events with a negative rapid test.
The ministry explains that rapid tests have a lower sensitivity. A PCR test can still be positive up to 105 days after infection.
While a PCR test looks for genetic material associated with the virus, rapid tests look for more superficial markers of infection. Most rapid tests look for antigens, which are proteins on the surface of the virus. Such tests are only positive if there is a large viral load.
So people who still get positive results in the PCR test after they have been ill need not worry about the rapid test.
