More than half of people in the epicentre of Italy’s outbreak have been infected with coronavirus and the region has the highest rate of antibodies yet discovered, a study by health authorities has found. The city of Bergamo and its surrounding province were hit hard by the virus, which was first detected in Italy in late February but is believed to have been present in January or even earlier. Blood tests carried out on more than 20,000 people in Bergamo and the surrounding area between April 23 and June 3 revealed that 57 per cent of people had antibodies indicating they had come into contact with Covid-19. Among medical staff, the proportion was 30 per cent. The study suggests that the area may be approaching herd immunity levels – experts suggest the threshold for achieving herd immunity against coronavirus may be around 60-65 per cent.
