AIIMS Rishikesh director says R-naught count has crossed 1 in 8 states, urges caution

Rishikesh, Aug 10 (PTI) The R-naught count in Uttarakhand and seven other states has crossed one, a senior doctor said on Tuesday, citing the recent findings of the University of Michigan.

Director of AIIMS, Rishikesh, Ravi Kant urged people to remain cautious and not lower their guard even after getting both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

"R-naught indicates virus prevalence and the speed at which it is spreading. It also shows how many people one COVID-19 patient can infect," he said.

"The R-naught count should not be more than one. The bigger the number, the faster the rate of spread of the disease among the population," he added.

Citing the recent findings of the University of Michigan, Kant said the R-naught count in eight Indian states has crossed 1.

Mizoram tops the table with an R-naught count of 1.56, followed by 1.27 in Meghalaya, 1.26 in Sikkim, 1.17 in Uttarakhand, 1.13 in Himachal Pradesh, 1.08 in Manipur, 1.01 in Kerala and 1.02 in Delhi, he said.

"People in Uttarakhand need to be more careful as tourists, devotees, yoga and adventure sports lovers from all over the country visit the state and often become unmindful of the Covid guidelines like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing in their excitement," Kant said.

He said more and more people should get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19 and not lower their guard even after getting both doses of the vaccine. PTI CORR ALM DIV DIV