Coronavirus

Study: 30-percent of São Paulo residents caught the coronavirus

são paulo antibodies
Photo: Anyaiva Nova/Shutterstock

A new study suggests that almost one-third of the city of São Paulo may have already caught Covid-19. The number of people with coronavirus antibodies rose to 29.9 percent in January, meaning that 2.5 million people have had some contact with the disease.

The study was carried out by medical diagnostics company Fleury, pollster Ibope, and non-profit organizations Instituto Semeia and Todos pela Saúde. Nearly 1,200 people were surveyed between January 14 and 23. The results show an increase of 4 percentage points in the number of people with coronavirus antibodies, compared to a previous study held in October.

Race matters

Black and low-income people have been more affected by the pandemic. While 23 percent of white people and 22 percent of residents of rich São Paulo neighborhoods developed coronavirus antibodies, the rate jumped to 37 percent among black people and 36 percent among those living in low-income districts.

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