Yesterday a Bora rider tested positive, forcing the team to withdraw from the Bretagne Classic, then tested negative just hours later. Statement from Bora "It is reasonable to conclude that this was a false positive test result."
You say it's normal to test positive one day and negative one week after, but hours later? And he tested negative in the days before the race. The testing system needs to be changed (A and B samples?) before the Tour starts.
The accuracy of the PCR test is at best 80%, 7 days after infection and lower than that the further away you go from that reference date either before or after. There's still that 20% of false negatives at best, so it's not impossible to test positive and negative on different samples taken a few hours apart.
This is a contagious disease that sets a threat to the general public health. It has nothing to do with the old doping problem that only affects the health of the involved individual, so it has been historically treated as a private issue within the sport.
This virus pandemics requires a different mindset regarding test results interpretation and protocols. The tests we have are inaccurate, and we have to deal with it. According to the experts, and based on the tests accuracy, you can believe positive tests, but you have to question negative tests.
The testing system needs to be changed accordingly. After a positive test, several negative tests on different days should be required to get back to work.
The statement from Bora is the statement of a bunch of people who think they're still doing business as usual: believe the negative tests and question the positive ones.