Merkely: Over 10,000 coronavirus PCR tests yield three positives

Of the 10,575 coronavirus PCR tests conducted by Budapest's Semmelweis University (SE) in May in a representative nationwide campaign, three came back positive, the university's rector said. Polymerise chain reaction (PCR) tests detect the presence of an antigen rather than antibodies. Bela Merkely told a press conference on Wednesday that at the time of the survey in mid-May, the ratio of active infections among the population was estimated at 0.029 percent, or 2,421 infections. Merkely noted that 70 of those examined were seropositive, indicating that the some 0.68 percent of Hungarians, or 56,439 people, were probably Covid-19 positive prior to the testing.