Covid still raging, 8 states showing high R-factor

The pandemic is "still raging" in the country and eight states have shown a rise in the R-factor, value of Reproductive Number for the coronavirus disease exceeds 1. As many as 44 districts have reported a high case positivity and the Delta-driven second wave is still not over. "Delta variant is a dominant problem. The pandemic is still raging and the second wave is persisting in our own country," Dr V K  Paul said, expressing concern about the R-factor or the reproductive rate of a virus, which indicates how fast it is spreading. "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," said Dr Paul.

The eight states with a high Reproductive Number value, as highlighted by the ministry, are Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Karnataka, Puducherry and Kerala. Lav Agarwal, a joint secretary in the Union health ministry, said at a press briefing on Tuesday in New Delhi, Among these, the number is at its highest in Himachal Pradesh and J&K, where it is at 1.4 for each, followed by 1.3 in Lakshadweep. It is at 1.2 in Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Karnataka, while the corresponding figure for both Puducherry in Kerala is 1.1. Additionally, nine states have a Reproductive Number value at exactly 1: Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Meghalaya, he said. 

Agarwal also pointed that, at 1.2, the average figure is same for the United States, Canada, Australia and India. Few days back, India's Reproductive Number was at 0.88, he said. The 'R' factor - a statistic used worldwide to track and control the spread of the virus - is a measure of how many people are being infected by one infected person. An 'R' of 2.0 indicates that one person with COVID-19 will, on average, infect two others. Each of those two will infect two more (spreading the disease to an average of four people). In a pandemic, the ideal 'R' target is below 1.0, which ensures that the virus will eventually stop spreading because it cannot infect enough people to sustain the outbreak.