MUMBAI: A serological survey of nearly 7,000 people conducted in Mumbai has found that 57 percent of the people who stay in slum areas and one in six persons who live in the city had contracted the dangerous coronavirus. In the slum areas, where lakhs of people normally live in crowded spaces sharing toilets. The medical survey further revealed that those who were infected with coronavirus have remained undiagnosed as they show no symptoms.

The research was conducted jointly by NITI Aayog, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research. Samples were obtained from volunteers in three wards - Dahisar, Chembur, and Matunga. The study showed that the prevalence of coronavirus antibodies was slightly higher in women.

The serological surveillance analysis used random sampling in the first two weeks of July. Doctors test the blood of a section of the normal population to confirm the existence of antibodies to any disease.

The human body produces antibodies only when it has contracted the disease in the past. This not only shows how far the disease has spread among the general population, but also shows how the citizens are heading towards herd immunity. The study showed that a significant number of infected people were asymptomatic and registered fatality levels as low as 0.05 to 0.10 percent.

Mumbai has registered more than 1 lakh cases and it is over 7% of the country's count. Around 1.2 crore people stay in Mumbai of which 65 percent live in slums. It is estimated that another 60 Lakh people live in peripheral districts.

On Tuesday, Mumbai reported 717 fresh coronavirus cases with the lowest one-day rise in more than two months. A total of 6,184 people died due to COVID-19 till date. There are 1,10,846 confirmed coronavirus cases in the financial capital.