In a retrospective cross-sectional study of universal screenings for SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 implemented in the labor and delivery unit of Elmhurst hospital at Queens, New York, during March and April, the researchers found that more than one-third of nearly 130 pregnant women tested positive for the coronavirus.

According to the study published in the journal ‘PLOS One’, this is a much higher proportion than reported at other hospitals in New York City during the pandemic surge, and are likely related to social inequities experienced by the surrounding population.

The majority of 72% of the pregnant patients who tested positive were asymptomatic, meaning they did not display any symptoms associated with Covid-19.

These findings add to the evidence that there was an early and rampant asymptomatic spread of the disease at a time when most of the community and hospital testing was limited to symptomatic individuals.

“This study is instructive for other labor and delivery units, and hospitals across the world as we continue to refine pandemic preparedness,” said study author Dr. Sheela Maru from the Mount Sinai hospital in the US.