Los Angeles County Study Indicates COVID-19 Estimates May Be 40 Times the Official Count

April 21, 2020 (EIRNS)—A study conducted in Los Angeles County using extensive antibody testing, found that between 221,000 to 442,000 Los Angeles County adults may have been infected at some point in the last three months with COVID-19, while the official count was less than 8,000 infected. The study shows the major gap in our understanding of the extent of the spread due to the lack of general testing and contact tracing. While the discovery indicates that the fatality rate of COVID-19 may be far less than presumed, it also indicates how widespread the virus has become and could affect the rate at which the country can reopen.

The study was conducted by the L.A. County authorities and the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy and Lieberman Research Worldwide. It has been met with some criticism, as it plays an important role in the current debate over opening the economy. Critics say that the testing contains too many false positives and negatives. The researchers will soon release more information with regard to their methodology. The researchers are now prepared to do more testing and with a larger segment of the population in order to provide an even clearer picture of the spread.