CDC: 10 Times More Americans Infected Than Statistics Show

(Patria) – U.S. government experts believe that more than 20 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus, 10 times more than official statistics show.

The infection rate continues to rise rapidly in more than half of American states, while large cities are approaching an 'apocalypse' similar to what the pandemic's epicenter, New York City, recently overcame.

New estimates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that many Americans have recovered from the coronavirus without symptoms.

This news comes at a time when Texas, one of the most populous U.S. states, is facing a sharp increase in the infection rate, prompting its governor to announce a halt to the next phase of business reopenings.

The number of new infections is currently rising in 27 U.S. states, compared to 22 last week.

The new CDC estimate, based on serological antibody testing, suggests that each diagnosed coronavirus case in the U.S. likely corresponds to 10 or more infected individuals.  

Representatives of this Center, led by renowned epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, explained to reporters that the estimate is based on the number of confirmed cases, currently around 2.4 million in the U.S., multiplied by the average rate of antibodies found in serological testing, which is an average of 10 to 1. Multiplying the number of confirmed cases by this average yields a result of 20 million.

This estimate is supported by the fact that there are increasing numbers of infections among young people, who are mostly asymptomatic and unaware they are infected.

Officials warn that young people who regularly come into contact with vulnerable populations should get tested to avoid spreading the infection.

- We have information from Florida and Texas that almost half of the new cases are from the age group up to 35 years old, and a large number are asymptomatic, state the CDC.

On Wednesday alone, 36,000 new cases were recorded across the U.S., slightly less than the record 36,426 recorded on April 24, when the pandemic was at its peak.

The increase has been mainly recorded in states that fared better in the first phase of the epidemic in the U.S. and relaxed measures too quickly. This is particularly the case in the densely populated states of Florida, California, and Texas.