A hospital in New York City has found out that only 37 percent of undiagnosed New Yorkers who thought they might have had COVID-19 in the last three months may have actually had it.

After conducting tests, the hospital only found that only the 37 percent had COVID-19 antibodies, a sign that the body was previously infected and fought the virus.

"That does imply that likely many of the people who suspect that they had this probably didn't have it," said Dr. Ania Wajnberg, one of the authors of the Mount Sinai study and an associate professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine. "You can't assume that you had it just because you didn't feel well a few months ago."

In comparison, 99% of New Yorkers tested by Mount Sinai who had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis did have antibodies, the cornerstone of the body's immune response to a virus, the researchers reported.

In the U.S., New York is the worst affected state by the COVID-19 pandemic, having registered more than 28,000 deaths.

Like other states however, New York has also embarked on a gradual reopening as the U.S. reels from an economic battering from the effects of the pandemic.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said in his daily press briefing on Tuesday that the Capital Region has met the requirements to reopen.

Source(s): ABC News