New York State will begin antibody testing on Monday to determine how many New Yorkers were infected with COVID-19.

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On Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the State Department of Health will begin to conduct a statewide antibody testing survey on Monday. The testing survey will sample 3,000 people for a population of 19.5 million people. Germany performed a 3,000-person sample with a population of 83 million, officials say.

"Any plan to start to reopen the economy has to be based on data and testing, and we have to make sure our antibody and diagnostic testing is up to the scale we need so we can safely get people back to work," Cuomo said in a press release on Sunday. "We are going to start antibody testing across the state tomorrow - and we are going to do that in the most aggressive way in the nation. This will be the first true snapshot of exactly how many people were infected by COVID-19 and where we are as a population and will help us to reopen and rebuild without jeopardizing what we've already accomplished."

Large-scale antibody testing will help determine the percentage of the population that is now immune to the virus, allowing more individuals to safely return to work, officials say.

Cuomo also announced the state will continue working with the federal government to assist with the supply chain and coordinate private labs to ramp up diagnostic testing, another key component of getting people back to work and restarting the economy.

On Sunday, the Governor confirmed 6,054 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 242,786 confirmed cases in New York State.

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