A BAFFLED woman became caught in a bizarre message exchange when her friend mistook her positive COVID test for a pregnancy announcement — leading to a very awkward conversation about her symptoms.

Businesswoman Helen Phillips sent a picture of her lateral flow tests to a friend, who works as a doctor, and expressed her disappointment that she would be forced to miss out on a work event as a result.

When her friend asked how she felt, she replied to say she had a minor cough and sore throat but “nothing major,” and was left confused when she was then asked if she was “happy” about the result.

She replied to say she was “not ecstatic” and the penny finally dropped as the pals realized they had been talking about very different tests.

Phillips says when it finally became clear her friend thought she was announcing her pregnancy, the pair were left in stitches.

In the messages, the 34-year old responded to her friend’s question about how she feels to say: “Okay to be honest. Sore throat and a minor cough. Was tired last week, but nothing major.”

Her doctor pal replied: “Are you happy?” before Phillips wrote: “About having COVID? I’m not ecstatic about it but as long as symptoms stay minor.”

It then all became clear as her friend admitted: “Oh! I thought they were pregnancy tests.”

Phillips, from Finchley in London, joked that she hoped her friends wouldn’t expect her to announce her pregnancy by sharing pictures of her “pee sticks” on social media.

She said: “The tests must look quite similar, because I think I’ve seen other people online make this mistake.

“We both found it really funny. And when I sent her the message, it was morning. She said it certainly woke her up.

Phillips said she had been planning a work event for months only to test positive for COVID-19 the day before, saying she knew she would be jealous seeing all the photos from the event she had organized.

When her friend asked if she was “happy,” she says: “My first thought was ‘Oh my god, she’s a doctor. What if they’ve established that COVID is worse if you’re a happy person? Doctors must know something about happiness levels and how bad COVID is.”

Excusing her confusion, the doctor said: “I didn’t really think much of the pictures of the test to be honest; I was half asleep and we’ve been best friends for years, it’s the sort of thing she’d do.” (SD-Agencies)