On reproduction metric, Covid can be spreading faster in UP, Jharkhand and Bihar

The national average for the R-value, or reproduction number, one of the parameters of Covid-19 transmission, is 1.32, indicating that one infected person spreads the virus to more than one but less than two people.

Covid-19’s ability to spread is getting attention again. One of the parameters of transmission, referred to as R or the reproduction number, suggests the pandemic might be growing faster in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. After tracking the daily new cases of the last two weeks, the effective reproduction number for Uttar Pradesh is estimated at 2.14, followed by Jharkhand (2.13) and Bihar (2.09). That means one infected person, on an average, infects more than two people in UP, Jharkhand and the neighbouring Bihar.