One-fourth population of Delhi exposed to coronavirus; SERO survey will be held every month: Health Minister Satyendra Jain

The Delhi government on Wednesday said that it will conduct SERO surveys every month to formulate better policies for tackling the coronavirus COVID-19 situation in the national capital.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Wednesday (July 22, 2020) said that it will conduct SERO surveys every month to formulate better policies for tackling the coronavirus COVID-19 situation in the national capital.

Sharing more details, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the decision has been taken after the government analysed the results of the latest SERO survey which showed that 23 per cent of the people in Delhi had exposure to the novel coronavirus.

Speaking to reporters, Jain said, “the next survey will be conducted from August 1-5.”

"The results of the SERO survey conducted from June 27-July 5 came out yesterday, and it shows that nearly one-fourth of people had developed antibodies, meaning they had got infected and recovered. Most of these people who were sampled did not know that they were infected earlier," Jain told reporters.

The Delhi government has now decided to conduct more monthly SERO surveys to find a greater percentage of such people who had got infected and recovered, so as to formulate better policies for tackling COVID-19, he said.

On a query that there were reports of some people trying to indulge in monetary transactions for convalescent plasma, Jain warned that "strict action" will be taken if anyone tries to buy or sell plasma.

India registered highest ever recoveries in a single day standing at 28,472 on Wednesday. This is also the highest number of COVID-19 patients cured or discharged in 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Ministry said.

According to a press release by the Ministry, with this, the number of patients that have recovered stands at 7,53,049.

This has strongly boosted the recovery rate among COVID-19 patients to 63.13 per cent, the Ministry added. The constantly increasing number of recovered patients has further widened the difference between active cases that stand at 4,11,133 today.

The difference now stands at 3,41,916. This difference is showing a progressively growing upward trend.

While the national recovery rate has improved, 19 States and Union Territories are posting a recovery rate higher than the national average, the ministry stated.

With a spike of 37,724 cases and 648 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India stands at 11,92,915, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases includes 4,11,133 active cases, 7,53,050 cured/discharged/migrated and 28,732 deaths, the Health Ministry informed.