News
Delhi moving closer to achieving herd immunity against Covid-19
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, January 26:
The fifth round of serological surveillance conducted in Delhi has suggested that more than 50 per cent of those surveyed have developed antibodies against Covid-19, government officials said.
This is the highest seroprevalence found during surveys conducted by the Delhi government since the Covid-19 outbreak. According to experts, this indicates that India’s national capital with a population of 30 million is moving closer to achieving herd immunity.
“In one district, the prevalence is around 58 per cent, which clearly shows that a large number of people have developed antibodies against the virus,” the Indian Express quoted a senior government official as saying.
Authorities had collected 28,840 samples — the most during such an exercise in Delhi so far — as part of the survey that ended Friday.
Only Pune city in Maharashtra state has recorded prevalence of more than 50 per cent in some areas, but that was several months ago. In most other cities, seroprevalence studies have shown antibodies in about 30 and 40 per cent of respondents.
Given that detection of new cases has been declining over the last four months, some experts and scientists believe that a much higher proportion of the population might have already got infected. The results of the Delhi serosurvey lends evidence to this.
In August last year, the first such survey conducted by the Delhi government showed 29.1 per cent had antibodies. The figure dropped to 25.1 per cent in September and stood at 25.5 per cent in October. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had also conducted a sero survey in July, where antibodies had been detected in 23 per cent of those surveyed.
The latest survey kicked off in Delhi on January 11, and samples were sent to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) for testing. An initial report was submitted to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s office.
Dr Shobha Broor, former head of microbiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said the survey “shows that there have been many asymptomatic infections in the city and we are approaching herd immunity”.
“The number may go up to 70 per cent in the next round as more people would have got vaccinated by that time. Having presence of antibodies will not affect the ongoing vaccination drive. Those who have developed antibodies can go ahead and take the shot as the vaccine will further boost the response,” she said.
Dr Neeraj Nischal, associate professor at the department of medicine, AIIMS, said the high prevalence of antibodies may help in further controlling the pandemic.
“It shows that a lot of asymptomatic infections did happen in the course of the pandemic, which were not reported at that time. This is our natural way of acquiring herd immunity as approximately 50 per cent have developed antibodies against the virus. This coupled with the ongoing vaccination drive will help in achieving herd immunity, and controlling the pandemic will be faster than expected,” he said.
A serological survey is meant to check prevalence of a disease in a population by detecting the presence of specific antibodies against the virus. The serological test is performed to diagnose infections and autoimmune illnesses. It can also be conducted to check if a person has developed immunity to certain diseases.
Advisory for strong winds and rough seas for Multi-day boats in the Bay of Bengal deep sea areas
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 05.00 p.m. 18 September 2026, valid for the next 24 hours.
PLEASE BE AWARE!
The atmospheric disturbance to the North of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, is likely to develop into a low pressure area within the next 24 hours.
Due to its influence, wind speed over the Bay of Bengal sea areas will increase during the next few days starting from
tomorrow (19th).
The wind speed in the sea areas marked under the “Advisory” category on the map below will increase to 55-65 kmph at times and those sea areas will be rough or very rough at times.
Navel and fishing communities engaging the activities over this sea area are advised to be vigilant and be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the department of Meteorology in this regards.
Text and Pic by Priyan de Silva
Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC) Ranga Dissanayake has questioned whether some promises contained in the National People’s Power (NPP) manifesto, A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life, could be fulfilled even if the government wanted to implement them.
Dissanayake raised the issue during a discussion following the release of the third biannual report on manifesto monitoring by the March 12 Movement, at the BMICH, on Wednesday.
He questioned whether the report had taken into account legal and institutional constraints affecting the implementation of certain pledges.
Citing the proposal to establish Anti-Corruption Investigation Offices in each district, Dissanayake said such offices could be established only with the agreement of CIABOC and that amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act would be necessary.
He also referred to the pledge to abolish the Executive Presidency, noting that successive governments had made similar commitments since 1994. He questioned whether there had been adequate consideration of where the powers vested in the Executive President would be transferred if the system were abolished.
On the proposal to establish a Public Prosecutor, Dissanayake questioned whether the Government intended to maintain the office alongside the Attorney General, who currently performs prosecution-related functions.
Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake said Dissanayake’s remarks should be regarded as his personal views and not as Government policy.
Monitoring and Evaluation Consultants M. Thilakarajah and D.D. Mataharaarachchi presented the third-phase findings, covering January to June 2026.
The corruption case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) against former Navy Commander, Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, and Yoshitha Rajapaksa was set for a pre-trial conference by the Colombo High Court.
The case was taken up before the Colombo High Court on Thursday (17), when the accused, who are currently out on bail, appeared before the court. After considering the submissions made, the court ordered that the case be called for a pre-trial conference.
The CIABOC had filed the case against the accused, alleging that a corruption offence was committed by sending Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, for training at the Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom despite him not having the required qualifications.
Advisory for strong winds and rough seas for Multi-day boats in the Bay of Bengal
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Some NPP manifesto promises may be difficult to fulfil – CIABOC DG
Yoshitha and ex-Navy chief Karannagoda’s case fixed for PTC
Court orders probe into Wimal’s rally speech
Court to rule on Dilith’s writ petition on September 30
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