R-value rising; central team sent to Kerala

New Delhi, July 29

The R-factor, indicating the speed at which Covid infection spreads, is climbing steadily with Kerala and the northeastern states occupying top spots, fuelling worries about the pandemic rearing its head again.

Among metros, the R-values of Pune and Delhi are inching towards one, say researchers at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai. With an increase of 4,404 cases in 24 hours, the active cases nationally registered an increase for the second consecutive day, according to the Union Health Ministry data. Meanwhile, the ministry today deputed a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Kerala to work with the state in instituting public health measures for Covid management in view of the significant surge in daily cases over four weeks.

The team, headed by Dr SK Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), will reach Kerala tomorrow and visit high-positivity districts.

Having active caseload of 1.54 lakh, Kerala is contributing 37.1 per cent of the total active cases in the country, with a growth rate of 1.41 per cent in the last seven days. The average daily cases being reported in the state are above 17,443. — TNS