The second serological survey for Covid-19 conducted in Delhi was released on Thursday. The results revealed that 29% of those who had been surveyed in the national capital had antibodies for the novel coronavirus.
During the release of the report, state Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the war against the pandemic in Delhi had been further strengthened. Jain said that if the population of Delhi is considered to be 2 crore, then nearly 59 lakh people have recovered and are safe from the virus post infection. About 70% of the state is still susceptible to Covid-19 and need to take all necessary precautions.
“This time, the serological report has said that 29% of the state’s population has recovered from the disease. That means they have contacted the virus in some form and have now recovered to gain antibodies against it. If we take the state population to be 2 crore, then 58 lakh individuals have recovered from the virus,” said Jain. The first serological survey conducted last month had shown that 23.48% of those tested had developed antibodies. The number increased by 5.62% or 11.25 lakh individuals in just one month. The sample size for the current survey conducted between 1-7August is around 15,000 people.
The results showed that: South East Delhi was the most affected; in SE Delhi, antibodies were found in 22.12% individuals earlier and now that number is 33.20%; overall in the national capital, 32.2% women had antibodies compared to 28.3% men; in the age groups, 34.7% individuals under the age of 18 had antibodies, while the number for those between the ages of 18-49 and those over 50 were 28.5% and 31.2% respectively.
According to the Delhi government, it is a good thing that so many people have been cured of the virus and if this trend was to continue, then in another two months, the city could see resistance to the virus through herd immunity. Experts have put the margin for herd immunity around 40-60% and the current trend could show a move towards it.
“Based on 15,329 samples taken from all 11 districts of Delhi, we have gathered this second serological report. The 5-17 age group consisted of 25% of those surveyed, 50% of the individuals were between 18-49, while those above 50 made the other 25%. According to the report, antibodies were found in 33.2% of people in the South East Delhi area, while 31.6% in North Delhi and 31.4% in Central Delhi. South West Delhi recorded the lowest percentage with 16.3%,” said Health Minister Jain.
Jain also said that it was clear from the report that the rate of expansion in antibodies creation among the population had increased by more than 25%.