According to the research, almost a quarter of the 28 million residents of Delhi may have developed antibodies against the coronavirus, making it one of the most affected capital cities in the world.
A random sample of 20,000 residents of the National Center for Disease Control in India (NCDC) found that 23.4% had antibodies against the virus. It seems that most of them were asymptomatic.
The coronavirus crisis hit Delhi hard last month, bringing the city’s health system to the brink of collapse, and many died after hospitals ran out of beds and fans. However, the exposure rate found in the NCDC study is much higher than the 123,747 cases officially reported by the city, suggesting that the spread of the coronavirus in India may be much higher than official statistics show.
India has the third highest number of cases in the world, 1.19 million, which is increasing by more than 40,000 per day.
The infection curve shows no signs of flattening, and states in India, from Kerala to Kashmir, have reintroduced individual blocks and night curfews in an effort to control the spread of the virus.
Based on the results of a study published this week by one of the few private laboratories in India authorized to perform antibody tests, an estimated 180 million Indians, nearly 15% of the population, may have developed Covid-19 antibodies.
