Results of Delhi’s ongoing sero survey in 2 weeks: Jain

100 samples will be collected from 280 places – 272 municipal wards, the NDMC, and cantonment board. This is the biggest sero survey. I think, it will take about a week to collect the samples and probably another week to get the results,” said Jain

State health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said the results of the ongoing sero-surveillance, which is being conducted to estimate the population-wise prevalence of antibodies against Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19, will be announced within two weeks. Officials have set a target of collecting 28,000 samples for the survey, which began on Friday.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said 28,000 samples will be collected in a week. (Amal KS/HT PHOTO)

“The sixth sero survey started in Delhi yesterday (Friday). 100 samples will be collected from 280 places – 272 municipal wards, the NDMC, and Cantonment board. This is the biggest sero survey. I think it will take about a week to collect the samples and probably another week to get the results,” said Jain in a press briefing on Saturday.

Jain referred to the current round as Delhi’s sixth sero-survey as a previous survey, which began in April this year, was cut short because of the increasing surge in Covid-19 cases. The analysis of the 13,000 samples collected in that round showed a sero-positivity similar to the fifth round conducted in January, when 56.13% of the population was found to have antibodies against the virus.

The fifth sero-survey too saw collection of around 28,000 samples from across the Capital.

“Experts are expecting a high sero-positivity rate; we will have the answer soon,” said Jain.

The minister added that although the number of cases and deaths due to Covid-19 has been under control in the city for a couple of months, people must continue wearing masks while stepping out.