Second round of state survey finds less than 200 Covid patients among 25 lakh Punekars

The round took place across the city between October 14 and October 21.

Pune The second round of door-to-door survey under state’s “My Family, My Responsibility” campaign has found less than 200 Covid patients from the over 25 lakh residents of Pune city screened for symptoms. Though the figure might indicate a fall in the spread of infection, experts doubt the method used in the survey and its results.

A health worker in PPE coveralls works with swab samples collected for coronavirus tests. The second round of door-to-door survey under state’s “My Family, My Responsibility” campaign has found less than 200 Covid patients from the over 25 lakh residents of Pune city screened for symptoms. (HT PHOTO (FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY))

The round took place across the city between October 14 and October 21 in which over 97,000 comorbid patients were found and over 1,402 suspected cases with flu-like symptoms were referred to clinics.

The first survey which took place from September 15 to October 10 had found over 1,348 positive patients and 9,023 were referred to flu clinics, indicating a higher positivity rate of 14.93%. The second round records a positivity rate of 13.26%. Although the absolute number of positives has gone down, the positivity rate has remained almost the same. Experts warn that the number of declining cases is no reason to lower one’s guard.

Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president, IMA Maharashtra chapter said, “There are more questions that we need to ask about the survey. The results are not convincing given that the positivity rate remains the same which means that the spread is still high. Was the screening done properly? Were all comorbid citizens screened well and what type of tests were carries out — RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen Tests — and if someone tested negative in the Antigen tests were they followed up with the RT-PCR? We need to know these answers before we comment on the results.”

Dr Subhash Salunkhe, epidemiologist and chairman, state technical committee on communicable diseases, who heads the committee, said, “Only a comprehensive and wider sero survey will help us find the true number of those who were infected and were recovered to know the actual spread of the infection. The number of positive cases is fluctuating even now. Their numbers keep changing every day and so we cannot let off our guard.”