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The symptoms resolved within 4\u2009days but there was persistent positivity of viral RNA in the upper respiratory tract for more than 58 days, which is the longest reported duration of persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in a healthcare worker. In this case report, we discuss clinical and administrative issues such as the role of asymptomatic cases in the transmission of the virus to patients and coworkers as an occupational hazard, interpretation of persistent positivity of nucleic acid test, duration of isolation and return-to-work guidelines pertinent to researchers and global health policymakers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2020-241087","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,3]],"date-time":"2021-03-03T11:38:24Z","timestamp":1614771504000},"page":"e241087","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Persistent positivity of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in asymptomatic healthcare worker: infective virion or inactive nucleic acid?"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2231-0152","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lokesh","family":"Tiwari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9923-6897","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Prakriti","family":"Gupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chandra Mani","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Prabhat Kumar","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,3]]},"reference":[{"unstructured":"WHO . 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