The current government push is for more testing, testing, testing. The current method seeks to assess the viral RNA load to determine the COVID-19 status of the subject. However, a study from China found the RNA test to result in 80% false positive results. Will the current testing be reliable enough to sort things out?

The current testing based on the gene sequence is accurate enough to be reliable for this purpose. The accuracy is not 100%, but close, and that is good enough to draw important conclusions about the statistics of exposure and accuracy of diagnosis, given there are many medical conditions that could cause similar symptoms in people and it is very important to differentiate the true cause, both for their benefit as well as understanding the epidemiology of the pandemic itself.