2.7 million New Yorkers may have had coronavirus, a preliminary antibody study shows

A Preliminary antibody study conducted in New York found that nearly 14 percent of the residents had antibodies against the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some 2.7 million may already have been infected.

Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed the findings on Thursday, while noting the small sample size of 3,000 people and other limitations of the survey.

He said the implied fatality rate of 0.5 percent of those infected was lower than some experts feared.

“If the infection rate is 13.9 percent, then it changes the theories of what the death rate is if you get infected,” Cuomo told at a daily briefing.