Nucleic acid testing is generally referred to as testing for novel coronavirus pneumonia, and there is no effect of nucleic acid testing after a normal cold. The common cold is caused by rhinovirus, adenovirus, and influenza virus infections, while the new coronavirus pneumonia is caused by the new coronavirus pneumonia infection. The pathogens are different. The nucleic acid test is generally specific and usually only detects novel coronavirus infections. The nucleic acid test is only positive if the patient is infected with novel coronavirus pneumonia, whereas other viral infections do not show a positive test. The nucleic acid test only detects the genetic information of the novel coronavirus, whereas colds are caused by other viral infections, so colds are not specific for the nucleic acid test and will not be positive for the nucleic acid test. During the epidemic, symptoms such as colds and fever, need to be extra vigilant and attention, should go to the doctor for examination, can not be randomly used drugs. [Tip] In this article, “new coronary pneumonia and new coronary virus pneumonia” were renamed to “new coronary virus infection” on December 26, 2022, as announced by the National Health Commission.