For those in a panic like I was yesterday, when I thought I had tested positive on a COVID test, do not fear! If you’re using the Arton brand RATs (Rapid Antigen Tests)—which are the free and available tests we get here in BC, Canada—and see a faint “positive” line similar to the photo here, it is ***very*** likely that it’s a false positive.

All the information you see on the internet says that false positives on RATs are extremely rare, less than 1%. But that is **not true** for the Arton brand tests!

When I got my hands on some more RATs, I tested negative three more times, then went to use my friend’s PlusLife PCR testing, and the results came back negative. 

Don’t be like me and wait until you have a single test left in any situation, because after getting this result and realizing I wouldn’t have access to PCR testing until later that afternoon (and had no other RATs to take), I was in a panicked anxiety all day. 😅

As somebody who takes regular precautions such as wearing N99s in all indoor settings, and who has just recently recovered from a long year of hell with Long Covid, I fell into immediate despair when I saw this test. 

I couldn’t find anything online but had confirmed through multiple friends and community sources that false positives tend to be common with the Arton brand RATs. This is your “found something online” to confirm true for you, if you find yourself in this circumstance.

Pro-tip: find your Covid-cautious community in your city, get connected with them, and learn who has PCR testing equipment at home for situations like these. If you’re lucky like me, you may live in a city where you are among an abundance of like-minded, Covid-cautious individuals.

For some reason, I couldn’t find photos from my true positives from last year so it was hard to compare with these results. So if you have Arton false / true positive pics, please share them here. Would be so helpful to compare!

Wishing you all another zero covid day. ❤️

False positive on Arton RAT (Rapid Antigen Test)