Sero survey in Delhi completed four days before time

Survey launched on June 28 to determine spread of coronavirus in national capital.

A school teacher conducts door-to-door survey to detect Covid-19 symptomatic cases at Mahipalpur in New Delhi | FILE 

NEW DELHI: The process of sero survey which was initiated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) concluded in the national capital on Monday with 22,823 samples collected, according to a statement issued by the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. The sero survey was started in Delhi on June 28 to determine the extent of the pandemic that has spread in the city and analysing its outcomes which will help the administration in re-evaluating its strategy. The initiative was taken up after Union Home Minister Amit Shah had held a meeting with Delhi CM Kejriwal and the L-G over coronavirus spread in the city.

While the sero survey deadline was July 10, the work was completed four days ahead of schedule. The survey was based on the recommendations of a committee headed by NITI Aayog member VK Paul and was a part of a new Covid-19 response plan prepared by the Delhi health department.

A school teacher conducts door-to-door
survey to detect Covid-19 symptomatic
cases at Mahipalpur in New Delhi | FILE

The samples collected are to ascertain the population-level presence of the IgG antibody and in turn find out if the residents had SARS-Cov-2 virus which causes Covid-19. The survey was carried out in all 11 districts for which teams were formed consisting of lab technicians and auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) posted at government dispensaries and mohalla clinics, Asha workers.

As per the directions of the L-G, Community Engagement web-based portal and Dashboard was launched for registration of NGOs and volunteers for a separate door-to-door survey to detect corona cases and educate the masses about the virus. A total of 2,398 volunteers, 3 CSO and 40 NGOs have registered themselves till July 3 and respective District Magistrates have already deployed many of them. The L-G reiterated that the community resources should be trained and utilised for supporting the healthcare system.

Difficulties outlined

A report recently prepared by the NCDC, Union ministry of health and family welfare, the Delhi government, ICMR & NITI Aayog stated that a door-to-door survey to identify those with symptoms of Covid-19 may not be suitable for Delhi at this juncture