ICMR to conduct survey to estimate prevalence of Covid-19 infection among Indian population

The survey would be conducted in 69 districts of 21 states and Union Territories, the apex health research body said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with other key stakeholders is conducting a population-based sero survey to estimate the prevalence of coronavirus infection among the Indian population.

Health worker using Thermal Screening Device to migrants from Tamil nadu and Andhra Pradesh after arriving by a special train at Danapur Railway Station in Patna during nationwide lockdown in the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic. (Santosh kumar/Hindustan Times)

The survey would be conducted in 69 districts of 21 states and Union Territories, the apex health research body said in a statement on Tuesday.

Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam and Bihar are some of the states where the survey would be conducted.

The household level cross-sectional survey will cover 24,000 adults distributed equally across four strata of districts categorised on the basis of Covid-19 cases.

According to an expert, the exercise can help ascertain if there has been community transmission of the respiratory disease in these areas.