Second sero survey shows 29.1% people in Delhi have developed antibodies against COVID-19

As COVID-19 continues to trouble the country, as much as 29.1% Delhiites have developed antibodies against the virus, the second round of the serological survey, which was conducted in the first week of August, has shown.

During the survey, a total of 15,000 samples were collected for testing, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain informed.

"The second serological survey in Delhi was conducted between August 1 and 7. A total of 15,000 samples were collected as part of the survey," Jain said.

Compared to the first sero survey that was conducted in July, this time, an additional 5.62 per cent of Delhi's population has developed antibodies against the disease that has so far infected over 28 lakh people in the country.

"Out of two crore population of the national capital, around 58 lakh have been exposed to the virus and have generated anti-bodies," the minister said.

The first sero surveillance study was commissioned by the Union Health Ministry in June and it was conducted from June 27 to July 10 in all 11 districts of the national capital. For this purpose, researchers took blood samples from select citizens after their consent and tested the samples for lgG antibodies and COVID-19 infection using COVID KAVACH ELISA, as approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

It had found that 23.48 per cent of the capital's population had been exposed to the virus.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,398 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Wednesday along with 1,320 recoveries. Nine people succumbed to the virus in the preceding 24 hours before Wednesday.

So far, the capital has witnessed 1,56,139 coronavirus cases out of which, 1,40,767 people have recovered, while 11,137 are active cases. The dealth toll in the city from coronavirus is 4,235.