June 15 (Reuters) – At least seven people in five U.S. states were infected with the novel coronavirus weeks before those states reported their first cases, a new government study showed. More than 24,000 blood samples taken for a National Institutes of Health research program between Jan. 2 and March 18, 2020 were analyzed and seven participants reported antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The positive samples came from Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the researchers said. (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)