As most of Florida starts reopening, more than 200,000 antibody tests have arrived to check for people who had the disease and likely have some immunity, Gov. DeSantis announced Sunday.

Most of Florida plans to reopen on limited basis

As much of Florida starts reopening on a limited basis, about 200,000 antibody tests have arrived to determine who had the new coronavirus but wasn’t counted in the state’s tally of cases, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday.

Antibody testing is different than the nasal swabs Florida has been doing at drive-thru and walk-up locations throughout the state and will help find mild or asymptomatic cases that were missed, DeSantis said Sunday in Daytona Beach.

“What they are finding throughout the country ... is the number of people with the antibodies far exceeds the number of people who have actually tested positive in a diagnostic test,” DeSantis said. “That has implications with how you deal with the epidemic going forward.”

The state plans to partner with universities to conduct random antibody testing, which will give scientists a better idea of how extensively the virus has spread through the community.

The University of Miami already has a study underway that suggests 6% of Miami-Dade County’s population has antibodies, which equates to about 165,000 residents. When those results were released on April 24, only about 10,600 people in Miami-Dade County had tested positive for coronavirus.

Preliminary results of another study showed that perhaps onein-five residents of New York City has been exposed to the virus, a much higher number than diagnostic testing has shown.

In addition to random studies, antibody tests will be made available to health care workers and offered at drive-thru testing sites, DeSantis said.

The blood-based test checks for antibodies through a finger prick.

Scientists don’t know yet what level of protection antibodies could provide against the new coronavirus. While recovering from some viruses, such as the measles, confers lifelong immunity, people can be reinfected with other viruses, such as the common cold.

The World Health Organization has cautioned against basing decisions solely on antibody testing, also known as serological testing.

“Right now, we have no evidence that the use of a serological test can show that an individual has immunity or is protected from reinfection,” said the WHO’s Dr. Maria van Kerkhove.

Most of Florida will reopen on a limited basis on Monday with restaurant dining rooms and shuttered retail establishments operating at 25% capacity. School classrooms, movie theaters, hair salons and gyms will remain closed. South Florida was excluded from the order because it has a higher number of confirmed cases than the rest of the state.

Diagnostic testing is also being increased for people who think they have the virus, DeSantis said.

As Florida reopens, the state needs to double testing to more than 32,000 tests a day, Charles Lockwood, dean of the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, said during a news conference with DeSantis last week.

Walgreens will be offering drive-thru testing at nine locations in Florida, including in OpaLocka, Miami, Jupiter, Orlando and Winter Garden. CVS Health and Walmart also will be opening drive-thru testing sites in Florida, DeSantis said.

Stopping outbreaks in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities also will be a priority, he said. A mobile testing lab will be deployed to offer rapid testing to residents and staff.

“If these things are left to spread unabated in a nursing home, this thing can really spread like wildfire,” DeSantis said.