What is a confirmed case vs. a presumptive case of COVID-19?

REGINA -- There’s been a lot of confusion about this since COVID-19 arrived in Canada, especially Saskatchewan.

It’s not guess work. They’re not making assumptions. It’s jargon. Here’s how it works:

Under investigation:

These are people that medical professionals believe could have COVID-19, but are waiting to get tested.

Presumptive Cases:

The patient has gone to see a doctor and been tested for COVID-19. This test came back positive at a local level. This test is almost always confirmed by a national body.

Confirmed cases:

The presumptive positive test is passed along to a National body for confirmation. A scientist re-confirms the diagnosis (in say, Regina) and relays that information back to health authorities.

So when you see a headline that says (and this is just an example) “Four new presumptive cases of COVID-19, two more confirmed” You’ll know that two were confirmed nationally and four more are waiting to be confirmed nationally, but there are six cases of COVID-19 in that particular area.

This is standard practice with all new viral outbreaks.