Every 15th person in India was exposed to Covid-19 by August: ICMR 2nd sero-survey
ICMR's second sero-survey has estimated that one in every 15 person aged above 10 years had been exposed to Covid-19 by August.
One in every 15 person aged more than 10 years in India had been exposed to Covid-19 by August 2020. This has been revealed in the second national sero-survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR).
Speaking about the finding of this sero-survey, Director General, ICMR Balram Bhargava on Tuesday said it was found that urban slum and urban non-slum areas had higher SARS-CoV2 infection prevalence than that of rural areas.
"Risk in urban slums is twice than that in non-slum areas and four times the risk in rural setting," he said, adding that urban slums had a 15.6 per cent prevalence of SARS-CoV2 while non-slum areas had a prevalence of 8.2 per cent.
Besides this, the ICMR sero-survey finding states that 7.1 per cent of adult population in India has showed evidence of past exposure to Covid-19.
In this backdrop, the ICMR has recommended that due to the upcoming festive season, winter season and mass gathering, inventive containment strategies need to be implemented by the states.
Meanwhile, commenting on the findings, the Union health ministry said findings of ICMR's second sero-survey report reveals that a considerable population in India is still vulnerable to Covid-19.
On Sunday, ahead of the release of the second sero-survey, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the findings indicate that the Indian population is still far from achieving herd immunity against coronavirus infection.
He stressed that masks be worn even in places of worship.
During an interaction with his social media followers, the minister said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is actively researching on reports of Covid-19 reinfection and although the number of such cases is negligible at this moment, the government is fully seized of the importance of the matter, the health ministry said in a statement.
He had cautioned that the sero-survey report should not create a sense of complacency among the people.
The first sero-survey of May 2020 had revealed that the nationwide prevalence of novel coronavirus infection was only 0.73 per cent.
"Even the soon to be released second sero-survey indications are that we are far from having achieved any kind of herd immunity which necessitates that all of us should continue following Covid appropriate behaviour," Harsh Vardhan said.
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