Capital could soon attain 'herd immunity'; 91% vaccination target achieved for the day

New Delhi: The outcome of the fifth round of sero-prevalence survey in Delhi has indicated Delhi's population could be heading towards attaining herd immunity against coronavirus infection, sources said on Monday.

The survey has found that in one district, 50-60 per cent of the sampled population has developed antibodies to COVID-19, they said.

For the survey, which ended a few days ago, samples of over 25,000 people from various districts across the city were collected, the officials said. Delhi's population is over two crore, spread across 11 districts and the city has conducted more than one crore Covid tests.

"In one district, the sero-prevalence rate is between 50-60 per cent, indicating a large number of people have developed antibodies, so we can say the city is moving towards attaining herd immunity," a source said without disclosing the name of the district.

Meanwhile, vaccination numbers have significantly picked up after the first few days of hesitancy with over 91 per cent of the registered healthcare workers turning up for their shots on Monday.

Moreover, Delhi recorded 148 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, the lowest daily rise infections in nine months, even as the positivity rate stood at 0.31 per cent.

The infection tally in the city rose to 6.34 lakh and the death toll mounted to 10,813 with five new fatalities, authorities said on Monday. The active cases tally on Monday stood at 1,694, while the positivity rate was recorded at 0.31 per cent, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.