More than half of New Delhi’s 20 million inhabitants may have been infected with the coronavirus, according to a government serological survey whose findings echoed earlier private-sector research.
India has reported 10.8 million COVID-19 infections, the most anywhere outside the United States. But Tuesday’s survey, based on some 28,000 samples, suggests the true figure among its 1.35 billion population is dramatically higher and approaching herd immunity levels.
“In the fifth sero survey done in the national capital of Delhi, (coronavirus) antibodies have been detected in 56.13 percent of the city’s population,” Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Twitter after the report was published.
In the fifth sero survey done in the national capital of Delhi, antibodies have been detected in 56.13 % of population.
— Satyendar Jain (@SatyendarJain) February 2, 2021
This was the largest survey being done by the Delhi Govt.
Delhi has largely won over COVID, though we should continue to practice covid appropriate behaviour. pic.twitter.com/0fvDqCvvg6
For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.
Separate tests done on more than 700,000 people across India by diagnostics company Thyrocare Technologies showed 55 percent of the population may have already been infected, its chief told Reuters last week.
The World Health Organization says at least 60 percent to 70 percent of a population needs to have immunity to break the chain of transmission, though Indian officials have said a lower level can also slow the virus’s spread.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Jain said New Delhi had largely beaten COVID, and India’s daily cases and deaths fell to eight-month lows on Tuesday.
Overall it has reported 154,486 COVID deaths, giving the country a relatively low fatality rate.
One factor in that is the country’s low average age, medical experts say. Two rich states with relatively older populations - Kerala with 3,459 cases and Maharashtra with 1,948 - now account for nearly 70 percent of new infections.
India has vaccinated nearly 4 million people since mid-January, when it started what the government touts as the world’s biggest immunization campaign, which aims to inoculate over 300 million people by August.
Read more:
India’s ‘abrupt’ approval of local coronavirus vaccine faces widespread criticism
Coronavirus: India tests vaccine delivery system with nationwide trial
Also Read
-
In major relief, S. Africa gets first coronavirus vaccine doses from India
South Africa’s first coronavirus vaccine doses arrived by airplane on Monday, offering some relief for health workers who have been stretched during a ... Coronavirus -
India unveils budget amid COVID-19 slump, considers doubling healthcare spending
Unveiling an annual budget on Monday aimed at reviving an economy that plunged into deepest recorded slump amid the coronavirus pandemic, Finance ... Coronavirus -
Indian economy shrinks 7.7 pct in fiscal 2020-21 amid coronavirus pandemic: Survey
India’s economy contracted by 7.7 percent in the 2020-21 financial year, battered by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released ... Economy
