A new study suggests that COVID-19 may be far more widespread than previously thought.

The study from Stanford University was released yesterday and has yet to be peer-reviewed.

It found that the number of coronavirus cases in California may be 50 to 85-times higher than official figures suggest.

Researchers tested 3,300 people in Santa Clara County on April 3rd and 4th.

At the time, the official number of confirmed cases in the area stood at around 1,100 – an infection rate of 0.6%.

After adjusting for different scenarios, the researchers found that the level of infection was between 2.49% and 4.16%.

That would suggest the actual number of confirmed is anywhere from 48,000 to 81,000.

Testing in Santa Clara, like in many areas around the world, has been limited to certain groups meaning the higher rate of infection will not come as a surprise.

However, the study is one of the first to put a clear estimate on the discrepancy.

The study also suggests that the death rate from the virus is far lower than official figures.

Earlier this week the official death rate from the virus in the US stood at 4.1%. The study puts the rate at somewhere between 0.1% and 0.2%.

A number of other large-scale population studies are currently underway around the world.