US officials have estimated that 20 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19. The estimate is roughly 10 times population of the 2.3 million confirmed cases in the country so far.

 

The estimate points to the fact that the a huge chunk of the population remains susceptible as twenty million infections means that about six per cent of the country’s 331 million population have been infected.

 

Director, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Robert Redfield said, “Many individuals in this nation are still susceptible,” adding that the best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually are 10 more infections.

 

Officials are already aware that many cases are being missed because of gaps in testing while millions of people were infected without their knowledge.

 

The news came in the wake of the Trump administration putting efforts to check the worrisome increase in cases as states begin reopening.

 

The new estimate is based on studies of blood samples collected nationwide by CDC. Many infections were not confirmed in early testing, when supplies were limited and officials confined testing for those with symptoms only.

 

Earlier, CDC officials and USA’s top infectious-disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci had pointed out that as many as 25 percent of infected people might not show symptoms.