The PCR multiplies a section of the genetic material that codes for a protein specific to C-19 over several cycles. The cutoff being used now is between 35 and 40 cycles.- depending on the lab. 1/n

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7268832/ https://twitter.com/tlowdon/status/1299736519184232449

« Tests with thresholds so high may detect not just live virus but also genetic fragments, leftovers from infection that pose no particular risk — akin to finding a hair in a room long after a person has left » 2/n

« With a cutoff of 35, about half of those tests would no longer qualify as positive. About 70 percent would no longer be judged positive if the cycles were limited to 30. » 3/n

Keep in mind that the test does not detect the whole virus. It detects a section of the genetic material. So if your body has already attacked the virus and broken it down, the test can still find some bits of the genetic material. 4/n

It might say that you have C19 even if you are no longer infectious. This is why the CDC changed its guidelines and now you don’t need to get a (-) PCR test to exit quarantine. You can exist quarantine after 10 days from infection and 24 hrs of no fever. 5/n

Can you imagine now how many people are testing (+) when in fact they are no longer infectious? Can we trust the numbers of rising cases? Can we trust the deaths numbers if some of them are assigned to false (+) cases? 6/6