Albany, N.Y. — A total of 2.7 million people across New York may have already been infected with the new coronavirus since the pandemic began, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today.

The estimate comes after New York completed its first broad effort to test people throughout the state for coronavirus antibodies. Antibodies, a part of the body’s immune response, can indicate whether someone has already had the virus and recovered.

About 3,000 people were checked at grocery stores and big box stores in 19 counties during the testing program, which began over the weekend. A total of 13.9% of the tests were positive, Cuomo said.

Coronavirus in NY: New hospitalizations flatten, deaths dip for 2nd straight day

NY to investigate nursing homes violating coronavirus orders, Cuomo says

Cuomo on McConnell’s state bankruptcy idea: ‘Really dumb’

The estimate on total potential infections comes from applying that percentage to New York’s full population, Cuomo said. It’s far higher than the 257,216 cases confirmed by testing for the virus itself.

Officials have said antibody testing can give a more complete picture of total infections since the virus often causes only minor symptoms. People with mild cases don’t always seek testing or medical care.

The positive results would also mean a much lower death rate than previous estimates. So far, about 15,700 New Yorkers have died due to the virus, meaning the fatality rate would be 0.5%, based on the new estimate of total infections, Cuomo said.

About 6% of cases confirmed by testing for the virus have been fatal, although the current death toll does not account for people who died at home.

Cuomo also cautioned that the results of the antibody testing are preliminary.

Multiple stores in the Syracuse area served as testing sites for the program. They included the Wegmans on James Street, which tested 150 people, and the Price Chopper on Erie Boulevard.

READ MORE: CNY grocery shoppers volunteer for antibody tests to see how far coronavirus has spread

The largest share of positive antibody results was concentrated downstate. Over 21% of those tested in New York City were positive as were 16.7% of those tested on Long Island and 11.7% in Westchester and Rockland counties.

The positive rate in the rest of the state was 3.6%. Areas outside downstate accounted for 32.8% of total tests taken. Another 43% came from New York City alone.

The regional variations support the state’s plan to potentially reopen regions at different times, depending on how hard they have been hit by the virus.

“The facts should dictate the action,” Cuomo said. “When you have different facts, you have different actions.”

READ MORE: New York to consider ‘region by region’ reopening

The tests also showed a relatively even spread of infections across different age brackets. The largest share of positive results was 16.7% in those between 45 and 54 years old.

Those between ages 65 and 74 saw 11.9% of the positives and those over 75 years old had 13%. Positives in other age groups ranged from 8 to 15%.

Black, Latino and multiracial New Yorkers all tested about 22% positive. Whites accounted for 9.1% of the positive results.

Cuomo said the racial disparities largely reflect the bigger numbers of people tested in New York City, which has more minorities. Upstate New York is predominantly white.

Cuomo has noted before that the virus has been hitting minorities harder and committed again today to more testing among those populations.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

He has watched coronavirus victims gasp for breath: ‘It’s like they’ve been hit by a train’

Reopening NYS schools this academic year ‘will be very difficult’ due to coronavirus, Cuomo says

As coronavirus spread, a Fayetteville retirement community became a hotbed

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598