Demographics and clinical characteristics of hospitalised patients under investigation for COVID-19 with an initial negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test result.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is placing abnormally high and ongoing demands on healthcare systems. Little is known about the full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on diseases other than COVID-19 in the South African setting.

Objective: To describe a cohort of hospitalised patients under investigation for SARS-CoV-2 that initially tested negative.