UP CM Yogi Adityanath orders 'sero survey' to assess prevalence of Covid-19

The serological survey will be launched on June 4 to help find the volume of immunity against the coronavirus being developed in the state's people, an official spokesperson said here on Tuesday.

In a bid to understand the prevalence of Covid-19 in the urban and remote areas of Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to conduct a "sero survey" in the state.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath inspects treatment of patients via CCTV at a temporary Covid care hospital set up by the DRDO in the campus of the BHU in Varanasi. (PTI)

The serological survey will be launched on June 4 to help find the volume of immunity against the coronavirus being developed in the state's people, an official spokesperson said here on Tuesday.

"The samples will be collected from June 4 and will enable an assessment of the updated status of the infection at different scales, including gender and age," the chief minister said.

The survey involves testing the blood serum of a group of individuals to determine the presence of antibodies against the coronavirus.

The report of the survey is expected to be released by the end of June.

There are people who did not undergo RT-PCR tests and could be asymptomatic. In this situation, the sero survey could be a significant step, the spokesperson said.

With a recovery rate of around 97% and a positivity rate of below 1% in the state, the government has taken the initiative to run a vaccination campaign that will target one crore people in June.

The campaign that started on Tuesday will focus on the beneficiaries of both age groups -- 18-44 as well as those above 45 years of age -- and will be conducted in all 75 districts of the state.