LOS ANGELES, CA — Each day we see new numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases, cases where people have gotten tested and the results confirm that they are infected. However, because coronavirus patients can be asymptomatic, showing few or no outward signs of the disease, health experts say it's likely many more people are infected but don't know it. Now, a new study by Los Angeles County hopes to better track those asymptomatic carriers and determine the true spread of the virus, and possibly even when the pandemic may start to return to normal.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, starting Friday the county is randomly picking 1,000 residents to draw blood and see if they have been infected with the coronavirus at any point. By randomly selecting who will give blood, experts say they can get a better idea how much of the overall population has the virus, including patients who are asymptomatic and might not normally get tested.

The tests are being conducted at drive-thru sites across the country Friday and Saturday, and then again every two weeks according to KTLA. By monitoring how the test results change every two weeks, researchers say they might be able to determine how the virus spreads over time, and hopefully use that information to forecast when the pandemic will end. The data could also be used to determine the disease's mortality rate, and how the immune system fights back against the virus, as reported by ABC 7.