“Abstract: In a preliminary clinical study, we observed that the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was effective against SARS-CoV-2 by shortening the duration of viral load in Covid-19 patients. It is of paramount importance to define when a treated patient can be considered as no longer contagious. Correlation between successful isolation of virus in cell culture and Ct value of quantitative RT-PCR targeting E gene suggests that patients with Ct above 33–34 using our RT-PCR system are not contagious and thus can be discharged from hospital care or strict confinement for non-hospitalized patients ...
Introduction: … We observed a significant relationship between Ct value and culture positivity rate (Fig. 1). Samples with Ct values of 13–17 all led to positive culture. Culture positivity rate then decreased progressively according to Ct values to reach 12% at 33 Ct. No culture was obtained from samples with Ct > 34.”
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