Coronavirus: DeWine’s third test comes back negative, first lady tests negative

After Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday morning in Cleveland during a required screening to meet President Trump, he has tested negative after a third test. His wife, first lady Fran DeWine, also tested negative, DeWine’s office said in a release.

The governor tested negative in his second test Thursday following a positive result during a required screening to meet Trump in Ohio.

“The test results today follow the negative PCR test results for the governor and first lady on Thursday. The PCR tests taken Thursday were negative for the Governor, first lady and staff members, and were run on lab machines twice with results coming in negative both times,” the release stated.

The initial test DeWine took in Cleveland was a rapid antigen test that gave a false positive. The second two tests were PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, are highly accurate tests that work by extracting and amplifying genetic material from the novel coronavirus, Ohio State University Dr. Peter Mohler said.

“When we deploy an antigen test, we have to think long and hard about how we’re going to deploy it. It has certain advantages … we also know the reliability is not nearly as good as the PCR tests that most Ohioans have had,” DeWine said.

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