We measured the severity of the pandemic (and hence the efficacy of the diagnostic method) using two key indicators-total attack rate (AR Total ) and peak attack rate (AR Peak ). The total attack rate indicates the total number of people who display influenza-like symptoms due to the novel strain. It is not the same as the total number of people infected as there is a fraction of people who recover without showing any symptoms. The peak attack rate measures the highest number of people (at any one time point) showing symptoms due to the pandemic virus infection. It is an indication of the maximum burden on the healthcare system, as well as a partial reflection of the economic impact due to absenteeism among working adults.