Elon Musk tests positive for COVID-19 again

March 28 (UPI) -- Elon Musk said Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time.

"COVID-19 is the virus of Theseus. How many gene changes before it's not COVID-19 anymore?" Musk tweeted. "I supposedly have it again (sigh), but almost no symptoms."

Musk previously tested positive for the coronavirus in November 2020, telling his followers that he had "symptoms of a cold" and "mild sniffles."

At the time, Musk said he was tested four times with two tests negative and two tests positive. He subsequently criticized news outlets that reported on his illness.

"Technically, I tested positive, then negative twice, then positive again, so 'Elon Musk Tests Negative for COVID' is an equally correct title," Musk said. "The 'rapid antigen test' from BD seems to be about as useful as a flipping a coin."

Musk has been vocal about his opposition to vaccine mandates but has said he supports "vaccines in general and COVID vaccines specifically."

"The science is unequivocal," Musk tweeted in April 2021. "In very rare cases, there is an allergic reaction, but this is easily addressed with an EpiPen."

He has also previously indicated he believes that COVID-19 infection and death numbers have been inflated, writing to his followers that those who have died "don't even need to be tested" but just need to have symptoms like "feeling weakness."

"Hard to die *without* feeling weakness!" Musk tweeted in May 2020.

Officials have said COVID-19 deaths counts likely have been undercounted, rather than overcounted. Recent research suggests the number of excess deaths during the pandemic may be triple that of official COVID-19 death estimates.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that COVID-19 infection numbers have dropped considerably since their peak in January even amid concerns of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.

There were just 30,000 new cases reported in the United States on Friday, the data shows, compared to 1.3 million new cases reported on Jan. 10 amid a surge in the Omicron variant.

Just 762 new deaths were reported Friday compared to the pandemic-high number of deaths, 4,071, reported on Jan. 13, 2021.