R-Value Rising In 8 States, Second Wave Of COVID-19 Not Over Yet, Warns Government

Amid the growing concerns about the daily COVID-19 cases showing a marginal increase in India, the Union Health Ministry has warned that eight states have shown a rise in R-value, adding that it was a "significant problem".

"Delta variant is a dominant problem. The pandemic is still raging and the second wave is persisting in our own country," VK Paul, the head of the government's Covid task force said on Tuesday adding that "Please remember that R number should be 0.6 or below. If it has gone over 1, it shows it is a significant problem and the virus wants to spread."

AFP

R-value more than one in 8 states

States where R-value is more than one are Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Karnataka, Puducherry and Kerala.

While Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra show a declining trend in states like Bengal, Nagaland, Haryana, Goa, Delhi and Jharkhand the R-value is at 1.

The R-value is a way of rating Covid-19 or any disease's ability to spread. Growth rate and active cases are also assessed using the R-value.

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It is the average number of new infections generated by one infected individual during the entire infectious period, the Union Health Ministry official has said.

Whenever R number is above one, it means that the case trajectory is increasing and it needs to be controlled.

The R-value hit 1 on July 24 for the first time since May when daily infections were near a peak of 400,000.

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Among the metro cities, the R-values of Pune and Delhi are inching towards one, suggests an analysis by researchers at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai.

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, warned that the second wave of COVID-19 is not over yet.

Whenever R number is above one, it means that the case trajectory is increasing & it needs to be controlled: Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry (2/3)

¡ª ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2021

"A high number of Covid-19 cases are being reported across the world and the pandemic is far from over. As far as India is concerned, the second wave is still not over" Agarwal said.