COVID-19 | Second Wave Not Over Yet, R Factor High in 8 States: Govt

Govt: Case positivity rate is greater than 10% in 44 districts and 18 districts showed an increasing trend in cases.

The second wave of COVID-19 is not over yet, informed the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday, 3 August, as per ANI.

(Photo: PTI)

The second wave of COVID-19 is not over yet, informed the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday, 3 August, as per ANI.

"As far as India is concerned, the second wave is still not over.”

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of Unman Health Ministry

Pointing out that Delta variant is a dominant problem, Dr VK Paul, who heads the government's COVID-19 task force, reportedly said:

“The pandemic is still raging and the second wave is persisting in our own country."

The Union Ministry also informed that the Reproduction (R) number is high in eight states and therefore, the case trajectory needs to be controlled there. This is because, as pointed out by Joint Secretary of Union Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal, when the R number is above one, it means that the case trajectory is increasing.

STATES REPORTING HIGH REPRODUCTION NUMBER

The eight states where the R number is above one are:

• Himachal Pradesh

• Jammu and Kashmir

• Lakshaweep

• Tamil Nadu

• Mizoram

• Karnataka

• Puducherry

• Kerala

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Stating that on an average, India, along with US, Canada, and Australia, has 1.2 R number, the Joint Secretary explained: “This means one infected individual is infecting more than one person.”

“R number is high in eight states of India. Growth rate and active cases are also assessed using the Reproduction (R) number. It is the average number of new infections generated by one infected individual during the entire infectious period."

Lav Agarwal, as per ANI

Dr VK Paul was, meanwhile, quoted by NDTV as saying:

"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.”

As per NDTV, only Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra show a declining trend and in states like Bengal, Nagaland, Haryana, Goa, Delhi, and Jharkhand the R-factor is at 1.

MORE DETAILS

Further, Agarwal pointed out that there are 44 districts where the case positivity rate is greater than 10 percent.

“These districts are in Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland among others,” the official added.

Meanwhile, VK Paul said that 18 districts showed an increasing trend in cases in the last four weeks.

India, on Tuesday, reported 30,549 new COVID cases and 422 deaths in the past 24 hours.

(With inputs from ANI and NDTV)