A senior health official said the preliminary findings did not contain the results from Bengal, where Cyclone Amphan had delayed the survey process. The experts who shared the preliminary findings declined to name any city because the health ministry has directed them not to make the findings public yet. The 15 to 30 per cent infection among those sampled in some Indian cities is significantly higher than the infection levels witnessed by similar surveillance studies in other countries. But a public health specialist said the results would allow health authorities to identify the areas with the highest likelihood of having large pockets of transmission. “The findings would help identify areas with extensive community transmission,” said Oommen John, a public health expert with The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi.

Source: The Telegraph June 08, 2020 22:51 UTC