A THIRD of participants in Massachusetts study test positive for antibodies linked to COVID-19 after giving their blood samples in the street at random
Nearly one third of 200 Massachusetts residents were infected with antibodies linked to the novel coronavirus, according to a pilot study.
Physicians at the Massachusetts General Hospital said they found evidence of widespread COVID-19 exposure in the city of Chelsea.
Chelsea, located just north of Boston, had the state's rate of coronavirus infections at 1,900 cases per 100,000 residents.
Researchers collected drops of blood from residents in Bellingham Square on Tuesday and Wednesday after advertising the study.
Of the 200 voluntary participants, 64 had antibodies created by their immune systems to fight the coronavirus.
Although researchers noted that the participants appeared healthy, around half told doctors they experienced at least one COVID-19 symptom in the past four weeks.
Additionally, researchers determined that 32 percent of participants have already had COVID-19 and several had no idea.
Residents who previously tested positive for COVID-19 were excluded from the study and identities remained anonymous.
Physicians used a diagnostic device to analyze blood droplets and said results were available in around 10 minutes.
The device is not FDA approved, but researchers said that Massachusetts General Hospital deemed it reliable.
Dr. John Iafrate, the study's chief investigator and vice chairman of MGH's pathology department, explained that the findings were partially good news.
'I think it's both good news and bad news,' he said.
'The bad news is that there's a raging epidemic in Chelsea, and many people walking on the street don't know that they're carrying the virus and that they may be exposing uninfected individuals in their families.
'On the good-news side, it suggests that Chelsea has made its way through a good part of the epidemic. They're probably further along than other towns.'
Physicians in Chelsea, Massachusetts, tested 200 residents' blood for COVID-19 antibodies and discovered nearly one third of participants previously had the illness
www.dailymail.co.uk
