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Ten times more people than previously thought may have already acquired immunity to the coronavirus, according to a groundbreaking study in Germany. Scientists from the University of Bonn on Monday claimed their findings show that 1.8m people across Germany have already been infected with the virus. That is more than ten times as many as have tested positive so far, and would mean more than 1.6m may have been infected and recovered without knowing it. The findings are based on the first comprehensive study of the effects of the virus on a single community in Gangelt, the town at the epicentre of Germany’s first major outbreak. As reported by the Telegraph, the study’s initial findings last month suggested the fatality rate in Gangelt was much lower than previously thought, at just 0.37 per cent. The study’s authors now believe this is the general fatality rate for the virus and that it can be used to extrapolate the total number of undetected infections from the death toll. “Because our research allows us to determine exactly how many individuals are infected, we can also determine the percentage of deaths among all those infected with great accuracy,” Prof Hendrik Streeck, the study’s leader, said as he announced the study's final findings on Monday. “The infection fatality rate is a property of the virus. It can to a degree be applied to all of Germany — corrected for demography, of course.”
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