Rapid Test Results
Rapid Test Results
[Header above the comic:] Interpreting Rapid Test Results
[What follows is a set of 8 possible rapid test results for COVID-19.]
[One line on the "C".] Negative
[Two lines, one on the "C" and one on the "T".] Positive
[Two curvy lines on the "C" and the "T", resembling the "approximately equal" sign.] Approximately positive
[Two lines, not on the "C" or the "T", but they are instead closer together.] Positive (college ruled)
[Five lines resembling a cell signal symbol.] Good cell signal
[Two straight lines, on the "C" and "T", with lines going outward from the centre, giving an illusion of the lines being curved.] Did you know these lines are actually parallel?
[One line on the "C", and two lines in a cross with one line sticking upward of the center of the cross.] The Blair Witch is near
[Three lines, with one on the "C", one on the "T", and one in the middle of the "C" and "T".] Click to expand Covid menu

This comic is another in a series of comics related to the COVID-19 pandemic .
This comic is a joke about COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test results. These devices are used in many countries for individuals to test their own nasal and oropharynx fluid for evidence of COVID-19 virus to detect asymptomatic infection.  These tests have two indicator strips - a test line for covid-19 and a control line to check the device is working correctly.  Where a control line is not present, the test should be ignored and repeated. Until comparatively recently pregnancy was the occasion most familiar for requiring this form of test)
The first 2 answers are the standard indicators for a negative and positive result, but Randall takes this to absurdity, see below in the table .
The title text interprets the hyphen in "Covid-19" as a negative sign to make a mathematical joke (or possibly a reference to antimatter , which in reality mutually annihilates when coming into contact with regular matter). Here Randall postulates a counterpart virus to Covid-19, resulting in a test with inverted colors, which he names Covid+19. When combined this anti-coronavirus exactly matches the original one and results in zero Covid, curing those who had previously been infected.
This was the last comic before this year's Christmas comic . It was about Covid-19 testing. The last comic before the 2020 Christmas comic, 2402: Into My Veins , was about the Covid-19 vaccine.
[Header above the comic:] Interpreting Rapid Test Results
[What follows is a set of 8 possible rapid test results for COVID-19.]
[One line on the "C".] Negative
[Two lines, one on the "C" and one on the "T".] Positive
[Two curvy lines on the "C" and the "T", resembling the "approximately equal" sign.] Approximately positive
[Two lines, not on the "C" or the "T", but they are instead closer together.] Positive (college ruled)
[Five lines resembling a cell signal symbol.] Good cell signal
[Two straight lines, on the "C" and "T", with lines going outward from the centre, giving an illusion of the lines being curved.] Did you know these lines are actually parallel?
[One line on the "C", and two lines in a cross with one line sticking upward of the center of the cross.] The Blair Witch is near
[Three lines, with one on the "C", one on the "T", and one in the middle of the "C" and "T".] Click to expand Covid menu
