R-factor goes up in 8 states, pandemic is far from over, says Health Ministry

The R-factor, which denotes COVID spread, is more than one in eight states, including Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Kerala recorded 23,000 fresh cases on Tuesday, indicating another clear surge in the state.

The R-factor is the highest for Himachal Pradesh and J&K (1.4 for both), followed by 1.3 in Lakshadweep, 1.2 in Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Karnataka, and 1.1 for both Kerala and Puducherry. Apart from these, the R-number in nine states, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, is 1.

An official from the Health Ministry said the pandemic is far from over, and the second wave, as far as India is concerned, is still not over.

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“The daily new COVID-19 cases being reported across the world are still high as more than 4.7 lakh infections are being recorded every day,” the official added.

The Health Ministry said 44 districts across 12 states and Union Territories reported more than 10 per cent weekly COVID positivity rate in the week ending August 2. It said that 18 districts from six states, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, reported an increasing trend in daily new COVID-19 cases in the last four weeks.

The Ministry also said that in the last week, 49.85 per cent of the total coronavirus cases were reported from Kerala.

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R-number is a measure that highlights the number of people a coronavirus positive person infects, thereby reflecting the severity of its spread. A number of one or below one indicates a slowly spreading virus while any number above one indicates a rapid spread.

(With inputs from Agencies)