NYT: Survey of 3,000 New Yorker Staters shows 13.9% with antibody to SARS-COV-2. Implied case fatality rate of 0.5%, lower than expected.

photo courtesy of Gerd Altmann (geralt) via pixabay.com

According to the New York Times, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a preliminary survey or 3,000 people found 14% with antibodies to the new virus.  Among 1300 residents of New York City, 21% were positive.  The survey was conducted among people who were out shopping, meaning they were not essential workers (like grocery clerks or bus drivers) but not isolated at home.  The rate of positive results would probably be higher among essential workers, but lower among people who have isolated themselves at home.  The sample will be increased over the next few weeks, which will give a better picture of who has been infected over the entire population of New York State.

The test results suggest that 2.6 million people across New York State had been infected with the virus, although there are only 250,000 positive antigen tests on record– a disparity of ten times.