What happens next?
The lab performs a procedure called extraction, where they isolate genetic material from the sample to check if any virus is present.
Special chemicals are then used to create a reaction that makes millions of copies of a portion of the Sars-Cov-2 virus’s genetic material. One chemical creates a reaction that lights up in a fluorescent colour if the virus is detected.
What does a PP, or presumptive positive, result mean?
The result is inconclusive.
"It might be positive but it needs to be repeated again in three days," said Dr Engy Iskandar, a specialist in internal medicine at Dubai's International Modern Hospital.