New york lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (image by CNBC)

Almost a Quarter of New York Resident, May Have Coronavirus Antibodies

Almost a quarter (one-fifth, more) of New York residents may have antibodies initial results of antibody testing suggest. Based on the data, antibody testing is one of the critical tools to determine is the pandemic has slowed enough to begin restarting the economy.

One of every five New York residents tested and have a positive for coronavirus antibodies, according to preliminary results and described by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday that suggested if the virus had spread far more widely than known.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported the findings Thursday, which showed that; out of 3,000 randomly tested New Yorkers, there is 13.9 percent had been infected with the virus and recovered (good example for antibodies). Cuomo added that the need for continued testing for COVID-19 not only helps determine the rate of infection in the community and identifies those who have the antibody to the novel coronavirus, it also minimizes the spread of the virus by identifying those who are positive.

"This basically quantifies what we've been seeing anecdotally and what we have known," Cuomo said in a press conference reported by NPR, "but it puts numbers to it."

“The testing also can tell you the infection rate in the population — where it’s higher, where it’s lower — to inform you on a reopening strategy,” He said. “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.”

By Now, more than 15,000 people have died of the virus in the state. A figure which doesn’t include an additional of 5,000 people in New York City who were never tested (for coronavirus) that were presumed have died from the disease.

WHO has recommended the tests only be used for research purposes, according to The New York Times, and not to make decisions about who can return to work.

Source: http://shorturl.at/rsC18