Coronavirus in India Latest Update Live: Fear of Covid-19 third wave looms as 8 states report R-value above 1

The Covid-19 situation in India is slowly but steadily stabilising.

Coronavirus Third Wave India Live Update, Coronavirus Statistics India August 11 Live News: The Covid-19 situation in India is slowly but steadily stabilizing. The daily coronavirus count has been hovering around 35,000. On Tuesday, India reported 28,204 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest in nearly five months (since March 16). The number of active Covid-19 cases in the country also dropped to 3,88,508, the lowest in 139 days. Even Covid-19 deaths remained below 400. All these indicate improvement in the Covid-19 situation in the country.

However, as many as 37 districts have been witnessing a surge in daily Coronavirus infections, against 18 districts last week, which is a concern. While Covid-19 cases are “stabilizing” across the country, the rising reproduction value (R-value) is a major “reason to be concerned”, the Health Ministry said. The R-value has gone over 1 in eight states, especially in newer states. In Punjab, the R-value has increased to 1.3; in Himachal Pradesh, which saw massive overcrowding by tourists last month after Covid restrictions were eased, it is 1.3; Uttar Pradesh has an R-value of 1.1; Andhra Pradesh (1 R); Gujarat (1.1 R), Madhya Pradesh (1.1 R), Goa and Nagaland (1 R). This shows how fast the coronavirus is spreading in these states, the ministry said, asking these states to follow stricter containment measures to limit the spread. The Health Ministry said that the decline in daily cases has not conclusive meaning for India’s coronavirus trajectory if the ‘R’ factor remains high.

Kerala alone reported over 50% of India’s new Covid-19 cases last week. The test positivity rate in the state has gone over 16%, compared to the national average of 2%. However, the state government has reimposed most of the restrictions in order to contain the surge. A central team that visited Kerala has said that from August 1-20, the state may witness around 4.6 lakh Covid-19 cases. The unlocking of activities, the Onam festival (on August 20), and the reopening of tourism pose challenging scenarios to the state.

Globally, the Delta variant is still giving trouble to many countries. The variant is contributing to the high caseload in the US and UK. It is also behind the recent surge in  China.

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