Nearly 10% of the U.S. populations believes they may have contracted COVID-19 over the past 30 days, according to a study released by WebMD. However, only 7% were tested to determine if they were infected ”“ and two-thirds of those who were tested were positive for the virus.
WebMD added that a “significant percentage reported shortness of breath and fever,” although it did provide a specific figure.
For those who were not tested, 39% said they did not meet the testing criteria, 28% felt they did not need a test and 25% said that testing wasn’t available in their area. An additional 16% admitted concerns over going to a clinic as a reason they avoided testing.
The percentage who suspected they had COVID-19 in the past 30 days was higher in the metro New York City area, the nation”™s epicenter: WebMD reported 26% of metro New York City area residents are positive for COVID-19 while early antibody testing found an infection rate of 21.2% in the city. New York has the largest number of cases in the U.S.
The poll was conducted from more than 6,300 online responses between April 20-21.