Three negatives and a positive

Trader He Ximing in the Chinese city of Wuhan says he has no idea how or where he caught the coronavirus or why repeated nucleic acid tests showed he didn't have it.

He was not a coronavirus patient, doctors told him, even though he had been having difficulty breathing with what he described as smothering chest congestion from early February.

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But his condition worried the authorities enough to get him sent to a quarantine centre. Still, he did not challenge the three negative tests at the time. After all, his wife did not fall sick.

But he could not shake off the nagging suspicion that he had the coronavirus and in late March went to a hospital in Wuhan for more tests, including one for antibodies.

This time he tested positive. "I didn't expect it," the 52-year-old vegetable seller said as he showed Reuters a copy of his test results - positive for antibodies showing exposure to the coronavirus.

Finally, at least, he had an explanation for why he felt so terrible. "I felt like I was dying. You can't imagine how it feels."

His case is not unique. Similar instances in China and elsewhere have compounded concern over the accuracy of coronavirus testing, even as authorities push for testing as key to handling the crisis.

Unreliable testing could undermine strategies not just for stopping the virus but for opening up locked-down economies, as pressure grows on governments around the world to ease restrictions.