NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that 13.9 percent of people randomly tested across New York had COVID-19 antibodies, suggesting 2.7 million people across the state may be infected.

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The results are from Phase 1 of the state's new ongoing antibody study, which looks to map out the number of people who have or have had the coronavirus.

Cuomo said the tests of roughly 3,000 New Yorkers were taken over two days at 40 grocery stores and shopping locations in 19 counties across the state.

The study found 13.9 percent of people randomly tested in the state had COVID-19 antibodies.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office

Cuomo said if the infection rate is 13.9 percent it would mean 2.7 million people were infected statewide. New York state has a population of about 19.4 million.

That could mean the death rate is lower than some estimates; if there have been 15,500 total fatalities, the death rate would be 0.5 percent of people infected, Cuomo said.

Cuomo also released some startling results from New York City: 21.2 percent of people randomly tested there had COVID-19 antibodies. With a population of 8.6 million, that would suggest about 1.8 million in the city could be infected.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office

Percent positive by region:



Long Island: 16.7%

NYC: 21.2%

Westchester/Rockland: 11.7%

Rest of state: 3.6%



(Weighted results) — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 23, 2020

Cuomo said Thursday that the number of new coronavirus cases in the state remained "remarkably flat" over the past few days even as he reported more than 400 new deaths from the virus.

Another 438 people died from the virus since Wednesday, Cuomo said, calling it a "breathtakingly tragic" amount. The state's death toll is now 15,740.

"That number is not coming down as fast as we would like it to come down," Cuomo said.

Cuomo said new cases remain "remarkably flat" over the past few days, but there were still another 1,359 new cases from Wednesday to Thursday.

"The number of new COVID cases walking in the hospital or being diagnosed is relatively flat, that is not great news," Cuomo said. "We would like to see it going down, but it's not going up either."

Hospitalizations in the state were down to 15,021, a net decrease of 578 since Wednesday.

"If you look at the curve, the curve continues to go down," Cuomo said.

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