Record 11,419 new cases as 6th serosurvey begins

New Delhi: As the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic rages through the Capital, Delhi on Monday reported a record surge of 11,419 new infections with 72 more deaths from the virus being added to the toll. This is the highest ever surge in cases the city has seen the outbreak last year and comes just a day after Delhi reported a record 10,774 cases on Sunday.

The daily positivity rate soared to 12.44 per cent on Monday even as vaccinations for the last 24 hours stood at 74,397.

As many as 21,45,265 people have been vaccinated in the city, of which 17,80,147 people have got their first shot, while the rest 3,65,118 have got both shots. On Monday, the SDMC announced that it had crossed 1 lakh vaccinations at its centres.

The death toll is now 11,355, according to the latest health bulletin, which showed that over 92,000 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. Of the positive cases on Monday, three were judges of the Delhi High Court, who are now isolating at home. They did not conduct court on Monday.

And amid this alarming rise in cases, the city rolled out the sixth serosurvey on Monday, which seeks to find the prevalence rates of Covid-19 antibodies in any given population.

Sources said around 28,000 samples, about 100 from each of the 272 wards, will be collected as part of the exercise.

In the sixth round of the serosurvey, the vaccination history of participants will also be taken, the sources said. The first serosurvey in July last year showed a prevalence rate of around 23 per cent. By the fifth serosurvey this January, the antibody prevalence rate in the Capital had risen to 50 per cent.