BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Chelsea has been a hot spot for COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, and a study was recently conducted about antibody tests in the area.
Dr. Vivek Naranbhai is a researcher with Massachusetts General Hospital. He worked with a study that asked only two questions to 200 people, if they lived in Chelsea and if they'd ever had a COVID-19 positive test result.
"63 people had evidence of antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19," Naranbhai said.
The test is similar to a blood sugar test. This result is concerning because the city and state have yet to reach the virus' speak.
"This tells us that, what we're seeing in the hospital isn't the full story," Naranbhai said. "A large number of people are doing okay and what it tell us is that, if we can redouble our efforts and we can really flatten this curve, we'll be able to potentially save lives."
The 31 percent of residents in Chelsea that have already experienced the virus in some way had not experienced symptoms.
Although this has researchers cautiously optimistic, there are still remaining concerns. There is no indication that people who have experienced the virus once cannot become infected a second time.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chris Fama (@CFamaWBZ) reports
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