Chandigarh, Nov 10 (IANS): Punjab will conduct its second sero survey next week, for which Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday gave the go-ahead.

The survey will be conducted in a random sample of 4,800 persons among the general population to assess the spread of Covid-19 in the state. Its results are expected by the end of November.

At a virtual review meeting, the Chief Minister agreed with health experts on the need to find the extent of spread of SARS CoV-2 outside the containment zones, in contrast with the first sero survey conducted in five containment zones across five districts.

The first survey conducted in one containment zone each in Patiala, SAS Nagar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Amritsar had found 27.8 per cent sero prevalence.

The second survey will include random sample of 120 clusters -- 60 villages and 60 urban wards -- from 12 randomly selected districts, with 40 adults to be selected randomly from each cluster.

ELISA test will be used to detect IgG antibodies in blood specimens for the survey.

The sampling scheme and survey method has been adapted from ICMR sero-survey protocol, the meeting was told.