Cuomo says coronavirus may have infected around 25 percent of NYC residents
Nearly a quarter of Big Apple residents may have been infected with the coronavirus at some point, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday citing the latest round of antibody testing — as the number of state deaths surpassed 17,000.
Building on an initial testing run of 3,000, another 4,500 random New Yorkers have been screened since last week for antibodies, which would indicate that their immune system battled the bug, the governor said in his daily Albany press briefing.
“That’s a very significant number,” said Cuomo of the 7,500 now tested. “It gives us a snapshot of where we are.
“It’s just a snapshot, but ‘snapshot, snapshot, snapshot’ … and you have a movie.”
In hard-hit New York City, that picture continues to look like a horror film.
Some 24.7-percent of those tested in the city were found to have antibodies, up from 21.2-percent in the first round.
If the 24.7-percent rate is indeed indicative of the larger reality, that would translate to approximately 2.1 million of the city’s 8.6 million residents infected.
Of the now 7,500 people screened statewide, 14.9-percent tested positive, up from 13.9-percent when the pool included 3,000 people.
Within the statewide sample, 16.9-percent of men tested positive, as opposed to 13.1-percent of women.
Latino, black and Asian New Yorkers continued to be disproportionately hard hit, with positive rates of 32-, 16.9- and 14.6-percent, respectively.
Despite the reservations of some, including and White House coronavirus expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, and a dearth of available testing kits, Cuomo has championed antibody testing as a key step in rousing New York’s slumbering economy.
If those with antibodies have built up an immunity to the coronavirus — as is the case with many other diseases — they may be able to return to work in the near future, Cuomo contends.
But in the face of new skepticism on the testing from the World Health Organization, Cuomo on Sunday said that the point had expanded beyond returning people to work, helping the state to determine the wider infection rate and who can donate convalescent plasma.
Cuomo unveiled the latest results as another 337 deaths were reported statewide in the 24-hour period ending at midnight Monday, pushing the grim tally to 17,303 overall.
The 337 deaths marks the lowest daily toll since March 30.
“Still tragically high, but on the decline,” said Cuomo. “Not that that gives any solace to 337 families who are suffering today.”