Tennessee Health Department Addresses "False Positive" Test Claims and Quarantine Recommendations

 After a number of reports claiming positive results for residents who never took a COVID-19 test, we contacted the Tennessee Health Department in Nashville to ask about the possibility of such an occurrence.

Shelly Walker is the Director of the Office of Communications and Media Relations for the Department of Health in Nashville and she said she contacted the Upper Cumberland Regional Office of the Department of Health and they said they were not aware of anyone being notified of having a positive test that had not in fact tested positive.

Said Walker, “We have heard from a couple of people across the state who were notified of being close contacts of a person who tested positive, and may have been confused by the information they received. As you are likely aware, we are conducting contact tracing, and do call people who may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 to let them know how to protect themselves and others.”

We also asked for information on the updated isolation and quarantine times and what they meant to Tennessee residents.

According to Walker, the terms “isolation” and “quarantine” have often been used interchangeably since the start of the pandemic, but they’re not the same thing. She added, “The overarching guidance on isolation and quarantine has not changed since we shared it in March and is not specific to Tennessee. Tennessee follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

When a person tests positive for COVID-19, that person is instructed to strictly isolate him or herself from other people for ten days after their illness started, to prevent spreading the virus to anyone else. This isolation would include other family or household members in a closed room with food and needs to be left for the person without contact.

Anyone who has come into close contact with someone with COVID-19 is instructed to stay home, or quarantine, for 14 days after their last contact with the case. Like any close contact of a positive individual, a household member must quarantine following contact to limit the spread of COVID-19. There are a couple of scenarios for household members:

1) In instances where the household member can separate him or herself from others in the home (separate bedroom, etc.), the individual may begin the 14-day quarantine period from the date of their last contact with the case.

2) In instances where the individual cannot separate him or herself from the positive individual, the quarantine period begins at the end of the confirmed case's isolation period (typically, 10 days). This is because the household member continues to be exposed to COVID-19 with ongoing contact with the case.

This case would cover the publicized 24 day quarantine with the 10 days of isolation followed by 14 days of quarantine.

Individuals identified as a COVID-19 case, as well as those who have been in close contact with the individual, will be contacted by public health staff members to give additional information about the quarantine or isolation period. Public health staff members will provide specific guidance and information based on that individual's situation. So, while it is possible that a household contact of a case may be instructed to quarantine for more than 14 days, the general instruction is not a requirement of a 24-day quarantine.

Walker concluded by saying, “Staying home when sick or after exposure is extremely important to limit the spread of COVID-19, and we appreciate the assistance of Tennesseans to protect their family members, friends, and co-workers.”