New Delhi, July 22, 2020: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said that the Delhi Government has decided to conduct Sero Survey every month. He said that the survey will be conducted from 1st till 5th of every month and the Delhi government is working on making the detailed protocol of the survey, which will be conducted in both containment & non-containment zones. The Delhi Health Minister said that the survey will be based on a representative sample to understand the latest situation of the COVID-19 spread. He also said that the serosurvey has indicated that around one-fourth of Delhi has been exposed to the novel coronavirus so far and has recovered. Jain said that in Delhi, the survey was conducted by the Delhi government in collaboration National Centre for Disease Control on around 21,000 samples between June 27 and July 5.
Next survey to be conducted from Aug 1 to Aug 5: Shri Satyendar Jain
"Sero Survey was conducted in Delhi last month in which we collect blood samples and check the presence of the antibodies in a person. The presence of antibodies implies that the person was infected by COVID-19 but has now recovered. In Delhi, the survey was conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in collaboration with the Delhi government on 21,387 samples. The survey report has found antibodies in around 24 per cent, or 1/4th of the population in Delhi. This means that nearly one-fourth of Delhi’s population was infected by the COVID-19 and has recovered. Most of these people did not know that they were infected. The survey was conducted between June 27 to July 5. The Delhi government has decided to conduct Sero Survey every month from the 1st till 5th of every month," said Jain.
Jain made it clear that the survey was done based on a representative sample from both the containment zones and non-containment zones:
Satyendra Jain said, "I want to reiterate the fact that everyone needs to remain cautious. Every citizen of Delhi should wear a mask, maintain social distancing, and wash their hands repeatedly. The survey was conducted between June 27 to July 5, and the prevalence of antibodies can only be detected after 15 days of the infection. This survey report indicates the status of infection during June 15-June 30, which indicates that this is a month-old status. Many people may have got infected and recovered after that period. The survey is conducted in every area, containment zones, and non-containment zones. We are trying to collect a representative sample of the society, by collecting samples from senior citizens, young people, children, men, and women. Around 21,000 samples have been collected until now. We are conducting a serosurvey based on scientific studies and analysis, surveys are not done on people who are willing to give samples, the segment of the population on whom the survey has to be collected is chosen," said Jain.
"The Delhi government is working towards making a proper protocol of the sample collection. Just like the last time, the survey will be done across the entire Delhi. The samples collected will not be fewer than the last time, infact, they will be more than the last time. Infected people are not covered under serosurvey, only the ones who have recovered from the infection are covered under it, there is a difference. Around 25% of people have been infected and been recovered in Delhi. Now, it has been conducted again so that we can find out the exact numbers of the patients, and further policies are designed considering that. This is the second survey, first survey was done only in containment zones. This time, the survey will be conducted in the entire Delhi. Based on the results, we can now say that around 24% population of Delhi has now recovered from Corona," said Mr. Jain.
Delhi government will not tolerate any corruption regarding plasma donation and take stringent action against such corruption: Satyendar Jain
He said that the Delhi government is very serious about plasma therapy. If there is any report of corruption regarding plasma donation then the government will take serious action against the people associated with such corruption.
We cannot say that in Delhi the herd immunity has developed within the population:Satyendar Jain
"Experts have different views on this. The experts say that herd immunity is developed when 40%-70% of the population has recovered from COVID-19. We have received the results for 24% of the population, and therefore, we cannot say that in Delhi the herd immunity has developed within the population as per the results of the survey," said the Delhi Health Minister.
Delhi govt will provide financial compensation to the family of Dr. Javed Ali who lost his life during COVID duty: Shri Satyendar Jain
"We know that a 42-year-old contractual doctor Javed Ali, who was working with Delhi government's National Health Mission, died yesterday of coronavirus. The Delhi government will provide financial compensation to his family because he was a frontline worker who died during COVID-19 duty," said Mr. Jain.
The percentage of deaths due to COVID-19 in July is far less than in June: Shri Satyendar Jain
He said, "The percentage of deaths due to COVID-19 in July is far less as compared to what it was in June. There have been many interventions of the Delhi govt, and I believe that these interventions have a huge role to play in reducing the fatality rate in Delhi. Earlier, there were complaints that people had to wait for a long time to get admission to the hospitals. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal directed that there should be a separate holding area in the hospital where the patients would be taken immediately and oxygen would be given. We have distributed 24,000 pulse oximeters which have also helped to reduce the number of deaths due to COVID. I want to repeat that there is transmission in the community. Around 25% of people have got infected and recovered in Delhi. But if it is community transmission or not that can be declared by the Centre only. It is a technical term."