Governor Cuomo announced on Thursday that roughly 21% or one in five New York City residents tested positive to having COVID-19 antibodies as part of the a statewide study launched earlier this week.
According to the preliminary results, individuals who tested positive for the antibodies were disproportionately black, latino and hispanic. With results showing over 22% of individuals in the aformentioned groups testing positive for the antibodies while only 9.1% of white identifying participants tested positive for antibodies.
During the press conference Cuomo anounced, “We have undertaken the largest most comprehensive study of New York State to find out what is the infection rate.”
On the benefits of testing for antibodies, Cuomo says there are two main reasons, the first is to identify individuals who have developed antibodies because if they have the antibodies then they can donate blood for convalescent plasma which is one of the therapudic treatments for COVID-19. The second reason for the testing is to, “inform you on a reopening strategy. And then when you start reopening, you can watch that infection rate to see if it’s going up and if it’s going up – slow down on the reopening strategy.”
It was revealed that across all of New York State, 13.9% of tested individuals were found to have antibodies for the virus. Extrapolating out the data, that means 2.7 million people are infected statewide. With approximately 15,500 total fatalities, the death rate is approximately, 0.5% of people infected.
The preliminary numbers from the study are just that, preliminary. The sample size is 3,000 and the testing was done specifically on non-essential workers who were not quarantined in their homes. The extrapolated death rate should also be taken as a preliminary figure as it does not include at home deaths which have increased by ten times over the last two months.
While the state continues to test for antibodies and analyize the data, it is crucial that we continue to self-isolate and maintain six-feet of distance from anyone else while outside.
All photos from Governor Andrew Cuomos Thursday Press Conference.
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