Affinity between the PCR and antigen tests and their positivity for Covid-19 in Colombia Afinidad entre las pruebas PCR y Antígeno, y su positivad para COVID-19 en Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly around the world since it emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Objective: to describe the positivity rates of samples tested for SARS-CoV-2. Methodology: the research focused on PCR and antigen tests processed for COVID-19, using the information released by the National Institute of Health between January 1 and March 31 2021. Results: the highest positivity rate for PCR testing for each month between January to March 2021 in Colombia was found on the following days: January 12: 56.3%, January 7: 44.9%, January 6: 45.1%, January 5: 43.7%, January 2: 38.1%, March 24: 35.2% and March 26: (31.3%. The days with the highest percentage of positive cases found by antigen testing for each month from January to March 2021 in Colombia, were January 11: 32.7%, January 4: 31.0%, January 15: 28.9%, January 18: 22.4%, March 22: 21.1%, March 28: 20.7%  and February 17: 20.1%. Conclusion: an active search of infected people must be continued through the practice of a greater number of PCR and viral antigen and molecular tests. The latter has been reported by the EPS to show very high accuracy, which accelerates the result delivery process.