Signs of Ebbing? India's 7-Day Average of Covid-19 Cases, R-Value Lowest in Nearly 5 Months

The seven-day rolling average of daily covid-19 cases in India fell below 35,000 on Wednesday for the first time in nearly five months.

India reported 524 deaths from the virus on Wednesday, the highest daily toll in six days.

After breaching the value of one in the first week of August, the R number, which reflects how rapidly the coronavirus pandemic is spreading, has also been steadily ebbing in the country including Kerala and some northeastern states, according to researchers. The R-value between August 14-16, calculated by the researchers, now stands at 0.89.

If R is less than one, it means the number of newly infected people is lower than the number of infected people in the preceding period and the disease incidence is going down.

India’s R has fallen to around 0.9, Sitbara Sinha of the Indian Institute of Mathematical Science, who is leading the research, told PTI, citing their data.

The R-value of Kerala, which has the highest number of active cases in the country, is now below one, signalling a relief to authorities who have been struggling to bring down the infection levels in the state.

The country also administered more than 56.57 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Over 48 lakh (48,81,588) doses have been administered on Wednesday as per the 7 pm provisional report.

The ministry said 25,93,571 vaccine doses were administered as the first dose and 5,77,183 doses as second dose in the age group 18-44 years on Wednesday.

Cumulatively, 20,80,43,061 persons in the age group 18-44 years across all states and UTs have received their first dose and total 1,72,81,211 have received their second dose since the start of phase 3 of the vaccination drive. As on day 215 of the vaccination drive on Wednesday, total 48,81,588 vaccine doses were given. For first dose, 35,85,420 beneficiaries were vaccinated and 12,96,168 beneficiaries received second dose as per the provisional report till 7 pm.

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