Do we cause false positives? An experimental series on droplet or airborne SARS-CoV-2 contamination of sampling tubes during swab collection in a test center

The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic urged immense testing capacities as one cornerstone of infection control Many institutions opened outpatient SARS-CoV-2 test centers to allow large number of tests in comparatively short time frames With increasing positive test rates, concerns for a possible airborne or droplet contamination of specimens leading to false-positive results were raised In our experimental series performed in a dedicated SARS-CoV-2 test center, 40 open collection tubes placed for defined time periods in proximity to individuals were found to be SARS-CoV-2 negative These findings argue against false-positive SARS-CoV-2 results due to droplet or airborne contamination [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control is the property of BioMed Central and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )