And 'Fact Checkers' are getting all bent out of shape about it.
The reader of the website LockdownSceptics.org contacted them yesterday to relate how he tested seven different items using lateral flow tests with three giving a negative reading, one a void, and the other three producing a positive result.
“I make that a false positive rate of 43%, or 50% if you remove the voided result from the sample,” stated the reader. Water, tea, and the man’s own saliva came back negative, Lee & Perrins sauce gave a void, but Pepsi Max, milk and mango chutney all came up positive for SARS-CoV-2.
“Obviously, I am not going to report these staggering results, but maybe I’m looking for a conspiracy in the wrong area… Maybe the real bombshell is that COVID-19 is being spread through cola, cow’s milk and curry condiments,” he joked. This is by no means the first time non-humans have apparently tested positive for coronavirus.
In May last year, Tanzania President John Magufuli said a goat and a pawpaw fruit tested positive for COVID-19 after samples were sent to lab technicians. Magufuli subsequently claimed that the false positives proved “some people were being tested positive when in fact they were not infected by the coronavirus,” reported Reuters.
Fact checkers claim that the false positives are a result of things like coca-cola and fruit juice breaking the test because they are "too acidic" – although this doesn’t explain why milk or a goat would test positive.
However, these results are nothing new or surprising for anyone who has been following the story of Lateral Flow Tests over recent months. As we reported last week confidential emails between Matt Hancock and members of his team revealed that they know that Lateral Flow Tests are useless believing they are between 2% and 10% accurate. This is in stark contrast to what the Government claim officially, still maintaining they are 99.9% accurate.