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A sample survey carried out in Dhaka north and south city corporations found 5.0 per cent of households and 2.0 per cent of the population symptomatic.
The survey conducted between April 18 and July 05 by the IEDCR in collaboration with the ICDDR,B covered 3227 households in two city corporations.
During the survey, both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals of the households categorised as symptomatic and asymptomatic households were tested and some of them were found COVID-19 positive.
Overall, 9.0 per cent among all individuals in Dhaka who were visited on different days of the survey period was found COVID positive.
The prevalence of COVID-19 cases was 6.0 per cent among slum dwellers, which is significantly lower than the overall estimate for Dhaka (9.0 per cent).
The findings were revealed in a cross-sectional household survey conducted in Dhaka city between April 18 and July 05, 2020 by the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research in collaboration with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases, Bangladesh (ICDDRB).
The USAID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported the survey.
The households were categorised as symptomatic and asymptomatic based on this initial screening.
The report said 5.0 per cent of the households had at least one member with any of the four COVID-19 symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat and difficult breathing on the day of survey or within seven days preceding the survey.
If any member had any of the symptoms during the period in question, the household was considered symptomatic.
The households that had no member with any COVID symptoms was considered asymptomatic.
All symptomatic households and approximately every tenth asymptomatic household were selected for laboratory testing.
A total of 435 asymptomatic individuals were selected from symptomatic households. Of them, 201 were tested.
On the other hand, 827 asymptomatic individuals were selected from asymptomatic households. Of them, 538 were tested.
Additional samples were collected from six slums (720 households) in Dhaka city.
The prevalence of RT-PCR positive COVID cases was the highest among people aged 40 and over (13 per cent) and adolescents aged 15-19 (12 per cent).
The prevalence was 6.0 per cent among children aged less than 10.
Among corona cases, 93 per cent had fever, 36 per cent cough, 17 per cent sore throat and only 5.0 per cent had shortness of breath on the day of testing.
Among those who had COVID-19 symptoms, 15 per cent were hospitalised.
Earlier in a summary report on Transmission Dynamics Study, IEDCR said one in six households (16.5 per cent) had at least one member tested COVID-positive.
Almost 40 per cent of symptomatic households had a COVID-positive member. Among asymptomatic households, 15 per cent had at least one member COVID-positive.
The symptomatic individuals tested COVID-positive is 29.6 per cent.
COVID-positive children and adolescents were less likely to have symptoms than COVID-positive adults.