Guwahati: Dr. A. Velumani, the head of a leading private laboratory has said that at least one in four people in India may have been infected with the COVID-19 - a much higher number than the official government figures suggest.
Velumani said an analysis of 270,000 antibody tests conducted by his company (Thyrocare) in cities across the nation showed the presence of antibodies in an average of 26% of the people. This would indicate that they have already been exposed to the COVID-19.
The Thyrocare head has said that this is a much higher percentage than the company had expected while conducting the survey. Surprisingly, the presence of antibodies is uniform across all age groups, including children, he further said
The company's findings are in line with government surveys done in Indian cities such as Mumbai. Studies in the Maharashtra capital which showed that 57 percent of the population in its slum areas had been exposed to the Wuhan-originating virus at some point in time.
Velumani added that the Thyrocare survey covers paid and tested patients, covering 600 cities in India for the last seven weeks.
If the current trend continues, the percentage of India's population having antibodies may reach 40% before the end of December.
Dr. A. Velumani, meanwhile, is of the opinion that the coronavirus curve in India might begin to plateau after 25% of the population develops virus antibodies.
It is to be noted that India is third only behind Brazil and the United States globally, as far as COVID-19 cases are concerned.
But active patients are less than a fourth of its total caseload, according to health ministry figures.
On Wednesday, India reported more than 64,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus in a single day, with more than 1,000 deaths in the same period.
India on Thursday saw a record spike of 69,652 cases and 977 deaths in the last 24 hours. The Covid-19 tally in the country has now climbed to 28,36,926 including 6,86,395 active cases. The number of cured, discharged, or migrated stands at 20,96,665 while the deaths have risen to 53,866, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.