US Coronavirus Cases Could Be 24 Times Higher Than Reported, CDC Analysis Reveals

The true number of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. might be at least 24 times higher in some states, concludes a new study and analysis released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.

The study, the largest of its kind in the U.S. to date, found the true number of people in the U.S. infected by the disease was anywhere from 2 and 24 times the total reported cases depending on the region and the time period. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"For most sites, it is likely that greater than 10 times more ... infections occurred than the number of reported COVID-19 cases," noted the analysis.

The estimated number of infections ranged from 6 to 24 times the number of reported cases in Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, New York City, Utah, and western Washington State.

The analysis was based on antibody tests to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the virus that causes COVID-19. The study analyzed blood tests conducted from March 23 to May 12 by commercial laboratories in Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, South Florida, Utah and western Washington State.

In June, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield admitted testing had likely missed 90% or so of cases in the country. The U.S. is testing about 700,000 persons per day.

The CDC study suggests 642,000 people were infected by April 1 in New York City, while only 53,803 cases were officially reported. Based on those estimates, the true infection rate was almost 12 times higher than reported.

The same undercounting has occurred in South Florida, Connecticut and Minnesota, where the actual rate was 6 to 11 times higher than the official number, the CDC study said. In Missouri, infections might be 13 times higher than the official count.

More worryingly, the study said these revised numbers are also likely undercounts. The tests also reveal many unaccounted-for asymptomatic carriers unknowingly spreading the virus.

There were a total of 57,216 new cases and at least 970 virus-related deaths reported Tuesday in the U.S., according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Some 3.89 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S.have been identified and nearly 142,000 people have died due to complications with the virus.

The study was entitled "Seroprevalence of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in 10 Sites in the United States, March 23-May 12, 2020."

A study published March in the peer-reviewed journal, Science, suggests the real COVID-19 case number in the U.S. is five to 10 times larger than the reported number. In April, a number of public health experts suggested the actual COVID-19 case totals in U.S., China and Italy might be at least 10 times higher than official figures.

Dr. Elizabeth Halloran, a biostatistician at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, told Business Insider that recent models indicate the actual number of U.S. COVID-19 cases could be anywhere from 5 to 20 times the current figures.