R-value reflects how quickly the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading, according to researchers the coronavirus cases have dropped to 0.92 by mid-September after spiralling over 1 by August-end.
However, the R-values of major cities, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, are over 1. While the R value of Delhi and Pune are below 1. In Maharashtra and Kerala the R-values are over 1, giving a much-needed break to these two states with the highest number of active Covid-19 cases.
By end of August the R-value was 1.17 and dropped to 1.11 between September 4-7 and since then it has continued to be under 1.
Sitabhra Sinha of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai said, “The good news is that India’s R has continued to be less than 1, as is that of Kerala and Maharashtra, the two states having the highest number of active cases.”
Sinha is leading the team of researchers who calculate the R-value.
According to the data, currently, the R-value of Mumbai stands at 1.09, Chennai 1.11, Kolkata 1.04, Bengaluru 1.06. The R-value or the reproduction refers to how many people an infected person infects on average. If we tell in other words, it tells how ‘efficiently’ a virus is spreading.
During the March-May period, thousands of people died due to the infection, while lakhs were getting infected. After seeing the shocking second wave that saw hospitals and health infrastructure being overwhelmed by the patients infected with SARS-CoV2 coronavirus, the R-value started to decline.
The R-value value between September 4-7 was 0.94, 0.86 between September 11-15 and 0.92 between September 14-19.
