New Delhi: The facts are simply chilling. Almost 30% of the population in the national capital are very likely to have been infected by the novel coronavirus. This is according to a serological survey of 15,000 people conducted by the AAP government in Delhi. It is a figure that indicates coronavirus infection numbers are much higher than those recorded.
The survey tested a sample of the population for the presence of antibodies. It was done in the national capital territory in the first week of August said Health Minister Satyendra Jain. He was addressing a news conference here Thursday.
“We found that 29.1% of the population of Delhi had antibodies, which means that they were infected and have been cured,” Jain said. Delhi has a population of 20 million and has recorded a total of 1,40,767 cases of COVID-19, out of India’s total of more than 28 lakh.
The findings of the survey are in line with what other cities like Mumbai and Pune have discovered. In those two cities also a significant number of their people have been infected but at the same time have also been cured.
India reported a record daily jump of 69,652 coronavirus infections Thursday, data from the Health Ministry showed. Deaths rose by 977 to a total of 53,866. Delhi reported 1,215 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the national capital to 1,57,354. There were 22 new fatalities taking the death toll to 4,257.
India is the worst-hit country in Asia and globally third only behind the United States and Brazil in number of cases.
