The city’s civic body has launched a sero survey, which will be completed in the next one week to understand the prevalence of the virus, its severity, and resistance among citizens. Based on the results of the survey, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will lay out rules and restrictions in the coming days to prevent the spread of the virus in the city.
A total of 2,000 people will be surveyed under the exercise. Out of them, 30% will be under 18 years of age, 50% will be above 18 years, and 20% above 45 years. To also understand the impact of vaccines, blood samples of 1,000 vaccinated individuals and 1,000 non-vaccinated individuals will be collected, to determine the amount of antibodies present, BBMP officials said.
ASHA workers and the civic body’s ANM workers have identified people to be surveyed in every ward through a door-to-door survey. While the serum sample will be tested at a laboratory for antibodies, the throat swab will be tested for RT-PCR, sources said. Primary healthcare centres will spearhead the survey. “The sero survey will help us understand infection resistance and severity. The survey will show how many people have been infected, how many have not been infected, and how many have antibodies in their bodies. It will help us tackle the virus in days ahead,” said Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commissioner, BBMP, who inaugurated the exercise in the city on Wednesday.
Though the case positivity rate in the city was less than 1% with around 400 cases daily, the city’s civic body is pulling up its socks trying to prevent the spread of the virus. Mr. Gupta addressed Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and trader associations in the city on Wednesday, asking them to strengthen COVID-19 appropriate behaviour (CAB) on their premises.
Mr. Gupta expressed concern over more number of cases being reported from a few apartments in the city and sought more caution in all apartments across the city. “One must immediately be isolated as soon as the infection is detected. In addition, the primary, secondary contacts, and the neighbours should be tested and isolated. All RWAs must comply with COVID-19 rules in case of any social event being held in their apartments and party halls. It is better such gatherings are avoided as far as possible. Precautionary measures must be taken at common areas of the apartments and gyms,” he said.
In his meeting with trader associations, he observed CAB was not being followed in many business hubs. “The staff at the shops and customers must wear masks and follow social distance. The shops must also have sanitisers. If guidelines are not followed marshals, Home Guards and police officers will visit the site and impose a fine,” he warned.
He added that all staff must be regularly tested for COVID-19 and in case of any symptom, they must be tested immediately. He also said vaccinating all employees was a priority.
