The rate of Coronavirus transmission in Delhi has dropped below 1 for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. The transmission rate, which is also called Reproduction number (or R) has also gone below 1 in Mumbai and Chennai, The Indian Express reported today.
R-value measures the pace of the spread of the epidemic in a population. The R-Value below 1 usually signals the start of the end of the epidemic, the report said. It, however, cautioned that scientists are cautious about the situation in Delhi.
IE quoted Sitabhra Sinha of Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai as saying that the R-value below 1 usually shows that a large part of the population has developed immunity, maybe because they have already been infected or through a vaccine. However, in the case of Delhi, Sinha said there was still a large uninfected population and “potential victims of the virus”.
The R-values for Mumbai and Chennai have also dropped below 1 only during the last one week. In Delhi, the R-value had gone below 1 for the first time in the second week of July. Between July 23 and 26, the R-value for Delhi was 0.66.
Meanwhile, Delhi started a fresh sero-prevalence survey on Saturday to make a comprehensive assessment of the COVID-19 situation in the Capital city. As part of the survey, the blood serum levels of individuals are checked to determine the prevalence of antibodies against infection.
The survey will continue till Friday. The previous sero-prevalence survey in Delhi had revealed that nearly 24 per cent of the sampled people in Delhi had developed antibodies meaning they had got infected and recovered. In the previous study, 21,387 samples were examined. In the fresh survey, 15,000 samples will be examined for the presence of antibodies against COVID-19.
Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain had said on Saturday that the national capital was at the 12th position among the various states and union territories in terms of active COVID-19 cases. The total number of active cases in Delhi today is 10,596 while 1,22,131 people have been cured/discharged. As many as 3,989 people have died due to Coronavirus in Delhi.