1 In 7 Westchester/Rockland Residents Might Have Had Coronavirus

Roughly one in seven people in Westchester and Rockland counties has likely been infected with the new coronavirus, according to preliminary results of a statewide antibody survey.

A total of 13.8 percent of local residents tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in a survey of more than 15,000 New York state residents, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Saturday news briefing.

For the rest of the Hudson Valley, excluding Westchester and Rockland, 3 percent of people surveyed tested positive.

Testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies indicates that a person was likely infected with the new coronavirus, though experts with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it's still unclear whether those antibodies provide adequate protection against getting infected again.

Antibody tests aren't foolproof. Someone who has a current COVID-19 infection may test negative for antibodies, and some people who have been infected may not develop antibodies, according to the CDC. False positives are also possible.

Still, antibody tests help health officials estimate the total number of people who have had the new coronavirus and how the body's immune system responds to an infection.

New York's antibody survey includes results from 15,103 people across the state tested at grocery stories and community centers over the past two weeks, according to the governor's office. Results were weighted to reflect population counts.

Hispanic and Latino New Yorkers were most likely to have COVID-19 antibodies, with more than a quarter testing positive, according to the preliminary test results. Men were likelier than women to test positive for antibodies.

"While we're in uncharted waters, it doesn't mean we proceed blindly, and the results of the 15,000 people tested in our antibody survey program — the largest survey in the nation — will inform our strategy moving forward," Cuomo said.

New York hospitals will start collecting additional data this week on patients with coronavirus in an effort to help local health officials identify where new infections are coming from, including specific residential communities being disproportionately impacted by the outbreak, Cuomo said Saturday.

The new metrics will include patients' specific residence, where they were admitted from, occupation and, for frontline workers, how they commute to work.

Another 299 people died of the coronavirus across the state Friday and 831 were hospitalized, according to the state health department.

Written by Maya Kaufman