New Delhi: A latest survey by Local Circles indicates that two in three persons who suffered symptoms of Covid-19 during April and May in Delhi NCR did not take the diagnostic test.
According to the survey, only 22 per cent of the respondents who exhibited symptoms akin to Covid-19 like symptoms like fever, sore throat or cough, cold or congestion, fatigue or body ache, stomach ache, diarrhoea, nausea, breathing difficulties, uneasiness, etc went for the test while 66 per cent said they did not go for the test. Meanwhile, 12 per cent of the respondents said they undergo Covid-19 tests multiple times.
“This means, of Delhi-NCR families that had 1 or more members exhibiting COVID-like symptoms in April-May, 2 in 3 did not take the COVID test,” the survey stated.
The responses on this particular query were taken from 11,235 individuals.
The national capital has been the epicenter of COVID cases in India since early April. Delhi Government has been reporting between 1000-1700 cases each day for the past 3 weeks, with a test positivity rate (TPR) between 4-9 per cent. At the district level, several districts in Delhi-NCR have been reporting a TPR of 10-16 per cent. However, the survey indicated that the daily reported cases might be grossly understated.
The survey platform claimed that many Delhi-NCR residents have been sharing that they either have someone in their immediate family or close network with one or more Covid symptoms. However, many are not taking the RT-PCR test, taking only the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at home or simply not taking any test, according to the survey.
The survey also revealed that 42 per cent of the respondents opted for RAT test. The survey received more than 23,500 responses from residents located in all districts of Delhi and the NCR cities of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad. 64 per cent of respondents were men while 36 per cent respondents were women.
Meanwhile, the survey also suggested that 55 per cent families so far in Delhi-NCR have 1 or more individuals who were down with 1 or more Covid symptoms in April and May.
“If the feedback from those residents of Delhi-NCR who had 1 or more members of their household unwell in April and May is further analysed, the findings suggest that 27 per cent suffered from fever, 32 per cent said sore throat or cough, 14 per cent said cold or congestion, 23 per cent said fatigue or body ache, 27 per cent said stomach ache, diarrhea & nausea”, 9 per cent mentioned breathing difficulties and 5 per cent told uneasiness,”
