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New York has been the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic and its reach may have been wider than originally expected. According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, nearly 25 percent of residents in the state have been hit with the virus.
Cuomo revealed the statistics during his daily briefing from Albany.
From the New York Post:
In hard-hit New York City, that picture continues to look like a horror film. Some 24.7-percent of those tested in the city were found to have antibodies, up from 21.2-percent in the first round. If the 24.7-percent rate is indeed indicative of the larger reality, that would translate to approximately 2.1 million of the city’s 8.6 million residents infected.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 55,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.