My second COVID-19 test was NEGATIVE. This is very disappointing as it strongly suggests that the first result was a false positive. I was really hoping for confirmation that I had, in fact, had an asymptomatic case and had developed antibodies without ever getting sick. Now I know that I either had the virus or didn’t. Not very helpful.

So all I have gotten from this whole episode is a whole lot of worry and loss of a Christmas holiday.

One final loss to end a year full of losses.

I wasn’t expecting any gifts this year. But I did get one gift and it was a good one. Probably my best Christmas gift ever.

My health.

It has now been at least 10 days since the exposure that resulted in the shocking positive COVID-19 test. I think that means that I am no longer infectious, if I ever was. And that I am unlikely to get sick.

I feel like I have dodged a bullet. Better yet, this probably means that I have some immunity to COVID-19. I won’t go crazy now and start kissing people in the ICU but I think the time between now and whenever I get vaccinated will be relatively stress-free.

I will retest in a couple of days. At this point I am really hoping for a positive result. Because if it is negative then the possibility of a false positive remains.

The photo is my flowering hibiscus. The red and green make it an appropriate Christmas photo. And a cheerful one, to match my mood. But I was also amazed at the clarity. This was taken at dusk, in low light.

My COVID-19 test result was POSITIVE. While there is a chance that this is a false positive result, it is far more likely that I either have the virus or had it and didn’t know it. I can’t tell which because I have NO SYMPTOMS. That could be due to me being one of the lucky ones who is not made sick by the virus. Or it could be that I was actually infected previously – perhaps as much as 3 months ago – and had minor symptoms that were never bad enough for me to think I had a potentially deadly disease. The test can show positive due to antibodies from an earlier infection.

But at some point – either now or as some point in the past – I was probably infectious and didn’t know it. I am not aware of anyone who I may have infected with COVID-19, but the possibility that I made someone sick without knowing it bothers me a lot.

The ability of this virus to be passed by asymptomatic carriers is one of the characteristics that makes it so insidious. I took the test on a whim and not because I thought I was infected. I have to wonder how many other people like me are out there and haven’t been tested.

I spoke to my doctor today and he agreed that I should isolate myself for at least another week, then take another test. If that test is negative then the first one was probably a false positive. If it is positive then I was definitely infected, but it won’t shed any light on when I was infected.

A perfectly crappy end to a perfectly crappy year.

When my son was visiting me less than 2 weeks ago I spent a few minutes researching how to get a COVID-19 test in Fort Myers, thinking that he and his girlfriend might need to get one to be allowed back in Massachusetts. Well, they were less concerned about that than I was and they were right – MA took them back, no questions asked. But the seed of thought was planted. And, because I had been in close contact with them – and because I am still considering attending a Christmas party with over a dozen other people – I thought it might be a good idea to get tested.

Fort Myers has a large, free testing site that gives rapid COVID-19 tests – results in less than 30 minutes. And while that instant gratification was appealing, I had also seen the lines of cars waiting to enter that site. And I had no compelling need for instant results. So I looked into the drive-through testing being offered at my local CVS pharmacy (I had seen the signs when I had been there recently). It turns out that the testing there, too, is free. And while an appointment is required, the “out time” was in minutes rather than days. I discovered this at about 2 pm on Monday as the first appointment time offered then was 3:10 pm. What the heck? I booked it.

I had to wait 25 minutes in line at the drive-through pharmacy window, which gave me time to review the video on how the test would be conducted. I thought I was prepared. When I got to the window I was handed a testing kit containing a swab and a vial. I abused myself with the swab, sticking it about 3 inches up each nostril. I sneezed. How does anyone not sneeze? But I put the swab in the vial and, when breaking off the tip of the swab (as required), I spilled some of the liquid in the vial.

Two days later I got the results – negative but inconclusive (insufficient DNA), I don’t know if that was because I didn’t swab correctly or because I spilled the liquid, but I had to retake the test. CVS, to their credit, were on the ball and called me to reschedule. I went back yesterday – no waiting this time – and redid the test, being careful to not spill the liquid and putting the swab even deeper in my nostrils this time. But I still sneezed.

I expect I will be negative, but the experience was instructive. It is indeed, easy to get a COVID-19 test now, which is great. If only it had been easy 6 months ago it might have saved thousands of lives.