It's commonly held that, compared to Rapid Antigen Tests, RT-PCR is highly accurate in detecting Covid-19. But, in some Delhi hospitals/labs, even RT-PCR tests are throwing up false negatives more than before.

As per a ToI report, this is because Covid-19 is stealthy in a number of symptomatic individuals. While sick individuals are showing symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath, their RT-PCR test results come back negative. This has led to many doctors asking them to go for a CT scan. In these scan reports, the result suggests that the patient is Covid-19 positive.

It's only the lavage test that is ultimately throwing up a positive result in a conclusive manner.

A doctor, appearing on a TV channel, said that a lot of positive patients are found to be having the virus attached to the ACE receptors in the lungs, requiring a lavage test. In such cases, he suggested, the RT-PCR test may not be adequate.

Meanwhile, some experts are suggesting that using double masks instead of one may be required in the face of the second wave.