Short answer: no. You will not get a positive nucleic acid test with a cold. Cold is an upper respiratory tract viral infection, and common viruses include respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus and influenza virus. Cough, sputum and runny nose are the symptoms. Nowadays, the nucleic acid test mainly detects COVID-19, and colds are just common viral infections, which are usually not positive. Nucleic acid testing is by far the most important method of detecting new coronavirus infections. During the test, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that no food can be eaten within 2 hours before the nucleic acid test, because the collection site is mainly in the pharynx, which may lead to nausea, vomiting and other symptoms of the collector; do not smoke or drink alcohol half an hour before the test; do not touch the front end of the sampling swab with your hand during the test; and the collector has to wear a good face mask throughout the whole process and prepare a spare face mask.