The Central Government on Tuesday said that the Delta-driven second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is still not over, as eight states in the country have shown a rise in the R-factor or reproductive rate of a virus.
The government’s remark comes amid the concern over the anticipated third wave. Dr. VK Paul, who heads the government’s Covid task force has said at least 44 districts across 12 states and Union Territories have reported a high case positivity. While 18 districts from six states, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh, have reported an increasing trend in daily new Covid cases in the last four weeks.
Expressing concern about the R-factor, which indicates how fast virus is spreading, Dr Paul said the Delta variant is a dominant problem, the pandemic is still raging and the second wave is persisting in our own country. The R number should br 0.6 or below, if it has gone over 1, it is a significant problem because it means virus wants to spread, he said.
Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Karnataka, and Puducherry are among the states showing increase in R-factor. While states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra showing a declining trend.The number of districts with high positivity had decreased from the previous week, however, now new states are showing districts with high positivity, said Dr Paul.
On the other hand, Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary, Lav Agarwal said that 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. Countries like the US, Canada, Australia, and India have 1.2 R number, on average, which indicates that one infected individual is infecting more than one person, he added.
The Union Health Ministry also said that the total number of coronavirus vaccine doses administered in July is more than double that in May.