New Delhi: India’s effective reproduction number (R) for Covid-19 — a measure of how fast an infection spreads through a population — has increased to 0.92 this week from 0.90 last week.
For the past four weeks, the value has been fluctuating between 0.90 to 0.92, according to Sitabhra Sinha, a researcher from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
R needs to remain below 1 for active cases to continue to decline and the pandemic to come to an end.
Kerala, which has the highest number of active Covid cases in the country, saw a fall in the R value this week — from 1.03 to 0.99. The state has been of particular concern due to the continuing increase in daily cases.
R values rise in Maharashtra, UP
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, which have the second- and third-highest number of active cases, respectively, saw a rise in their R values.
For Maharashtra, the value was 0.84 last week, but this week it is close to 1. For UP, the value increased from 0.82 last week to 0.83 last week.
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab also saw an increase in their R values.
In Tamil Nadu, R value was 0.83 last week but increased to 0.90 this week. Madhya Pradesh’s R went from 0.60 to 0.63. Punjab’s R value increased to 0.90 from 0.88, and Uttarakhand’s R went from 0.84 to 0.85.
Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan see dip in R value
Some other states, meanwhile, saw a drop in their R values.
West Bengal’s R is now 0.91 from 0.92 last week. Gujarat’s R dropped from 0.90 to 0.69. Rajasthan, with its R at 0.80 last week, also saw it drop to 0.69 this week.
Similarly, for Telangana, the value dropped from 0.90 to 0.68. In Bihar, the R value was 0.72 last week, which reduced to 0.69.
Assam, too, saw its R drop from 0.86 to 0.83.
Several major cities also saw a drop in their infection rates.
Delhi’s R dropped from 0.75 to 0.74 this week. Mumbai also saw a dip in its R from 0.90 last week to 0.86 this week. Bengaluru’s R is now 0.73, a drop from 0.85 last week.
Pune is now the only city with R over 1. Last week, Pune’s R value was 0.70, which has now increased to 1.08. Kolkata also saw an increase in R from 0.89 to 0.96.
Chennai’s R value has remained steady at 0.91.
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