Testing positive weeks after a COVID-19 diagnosis: What it means for travel

For most people, COVID is flushed out of the system within about 10 to 14 days. But in rare instances, some folks might still test positive 28 days or longer after their infection.

Robin Ferré assumed his birthday trip to Los Angeles would go off without a hitch. He was triple vaccinated, had recovered from an assumed COVID-19 infection three weeks prior, and was armed with a negative rapid antigen test.

But then, the night before his flight back to Canada — on his birthday — his PCR test came back positive.

“It cost us a lot of money, and it caused us a lot of stress,” Ferré told Global News, speaking in French during an interview on Monday.

Ferré’s three-day trip in late January had suddenly became an 11-day stay — costing himself and his partner roughly $2,000 in unforeseen hotel bills, food and other expenses.

It’s a situation some Canadians are finding themselves in as travel becomes more common once again. They’re testing positive for COVID on a rapid test, recovering from the virus, then weeks later, they’re positive again on a travel-related PCR test.

“If you become sick and you test positive, it’s probably a legitimate result says that you’ve got COVID and you’re infected with the virus,” said infectious disease specialist Dr. Gerald Evans.

“The problem is that, in some people, that PCR test can actually continue to be positive for quite a long period.”

The culprit behind Ferré’s positive PCR test could have been something called the RNA molecule. It’s a “very sticky” molecule, according to Evans, and this “tricky, sticky molecule” can hide out in sneaky spots like your tonsils and throat — only to reappear when a PCR test carefully combs through your sample for any hint of COVID-19.