Coronavirus antibody testing suggests infections are widely under-reported

Mounting evidence suggests that the coronavirus might be more widespread throughout the country than previously thought — in some cases more than 80 times original estimates — as states expand capacity for antibody testing and find surprising results.

On Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has emphasized the importance of antibody testing and contact tracing in order to determine who can safely return to work, said that early results suggested 14.9 percent of residents had contracted COVID-19 at some point.

He earlier said preliminary results suggested a statewide infection rate of 13.9 percent, which would mean roughly 2.7 million residents contracted the illness at some point, which is about 10 times more than what’s been confirmed by COVID-19 testing. As of Tuesday, the number of coronavirus cases reported worldwide had reached just over 3 million.

In addition to the risk that “silent carriers,” or asymptomatic patients, can pose to others, the new data may also help researchers better estimate the virus’ true fatality rate.

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