HV Coronavirus Antibody Tests: Many More Infected Than Tested

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The first results are in from the new antibody testing program begun this week by New York health officials to see just how many residents have been infected with the new coronavirus. Overall, 13.9 percent of people tested had had at least a mild case of COVID-19, said officials.

Extrapolating from the random sampling of 3,000 people done since Sunday, that means 2.6 million New Yorkers have been infected since the pandemic began.

That would include more than 115,000 Rockland and Westchester residents, many more than the 35,787 people who have tested positive in the two counties since the beginning of March.

The testing provides statistical confirmation of what health officials have surmised, which is that the virus is widespread, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his briefing Thursday.

According to the state's weighted and preliminary results, the infection rate for Rockland and Westchester was lower than the state average, and much lower than Long Island or New York City.

State officials had often grouped the two lower Hudson Valley counties with Nassau and Suffolk, but the antibody testing showed a real difference between the two, Cuomo said.

The test, a random sampling done in 19 of the state's counties, is the largest, most comprehensive study yet in the United States to determine the new coronavirus infection rate.

The survey tested people who were out shopping, not quarantined or at work, Cuomo said. The test was to identify people who were infected and have since developed the antibodies which fight off the disease. Cuomo said people with antibodies to COVID-19 could be donors to help others survive. SEE: Hudson Valley Coronavirus: Hospital Starts Plasma Therapy

The early test results support re-opening the state's economy in phases, he said.

"What you do in a place with 21 percent is not the same as in a place with 3.6 percent," he said. "The facts should dictate the action."

Since the pandemic began in New York at the beginning of March, 15,740 people are confirmed dead from COVID-19, according to state statistics.

SEE: NY Coronavirus: Antibody Testing To Start