An official serological study conducted in India revealed that nearly one-fifth of Delhi’s population might have been infected by Covid-19. Officials have seen this is as a reason to be optimistic about the current situation. They believe herd immunity could be a feasible long-term option for the capital and other cities.
The serological study was conducted by the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and its results point to the implication that roughly 23% of the 21,387 people included in the test may have already been exposed to the virus. These kinds of tests look for disease-specific antibodies in an individual. They are often conducted to be able to calculate the spread of the disease in a population.
“Since it is not possible to test everyone, the actual number of people infected by the virus is not known,” Delhi’s health minister, Satyendar Jain told journalists in India. “As many of us know, most of the patients are believed to be asymptomatic.”
The study was conducted between June 27 and July 10, and its goal was to determine how much Covid-19 had spread in Delhi’s 11 districts. The results showed that eight districts had over 20% infection rate. In a city with around 19 million inhabitants, this amounts to more than 4,3 million infections.
Some experts believe the number of cases could be even higher in the densely populated areas of the city.
