New York Scientists Develop Test to Find Who Is Immune to COVID-19

Scientists at Mt. Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine have developed the first test to determine whether people have already had coronavirus.

The test looks for antibodies in the blood that would determine whether someone had already encountered COVID-19 even if they had no symptoms, and now has at least temporary immunity, MIT Technology Review reported.

The test could allow such individuals to return to work without fear of being reinfected, thus partially jumpstarting the economy already suffering a hit from lockdowns and business shutdowns intended to limit human-to-human contact.

It is possible that many people who had the virus had no symptoms at all, or thought they simply had a cold or a flu, the Daily Mail noted.

A Huazhong University of Science and Technology study in Wuhan, China, where the virus originated, found that at least 59% of those infected did not know they were sick, exposing others as they moved about the city.

Similarly, about 18% of infected passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship never showed symptoms, a Georgia State University study found.

More than 42,000 cases of the coronavius have been confirmed in the United States, and 541 people had died as of Monday night.

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