INDIANAPOLIS — Preliminary results from the second phase a scientific study aimed at measuring the spread of the novel coronavirus in Indiana show fewer active infections and a greater number of people testing positive for antibodies.
A total of 0.6% of the 3,619 people who participated in the study from June 3 and 8 were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, at the time the test was administered, down from 1.7% during the first phase of the study, which was done at the end of April.
Additionally, 1.5% of participants tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, up from 1.1% in the first phase.
Around two out of every five participants who tested positive for an active SARS-CoV-2 infection reported experiencing no symptoms, said Nir Menachemi, lead scientist on the study and a professor at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI.
“While our results are preliminary, our results delineate a number of important conclusions regarding the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in our state,” Menachemi said during a press briefing Wednesday. “…In wave 2, we observed fewer active infections and a greater number of people testing positive for antibodies. Taken together this is evidence that the virus has slowed its spread within our state.”
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
