The Covid-19 r-factor will start going down as more people are being vaccinated against the virus, which means that fewer people will be at risk of becoming infected, statistician Vince Marmara said.

The reproduction number of the virus is one of the key figures which countries across the world have been trying to reduce ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The aim for countries has been to reduce the ratio to a level of 1 – which would mean that one person would transmit the virus to one other person.

In his weekly video blog for The Malta Independent on Sunday, Marmara said the r-factor currently stands at 0.9%.

More than 48,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered so far. This means that around 6.5% of the population has received at least one dose. Around 3% have received two doses.

“This is a positive thing because the number of people at risk of getting the virus is decreasing. This helps the r-factor, to go down, because fewer people are at risk.”

Marmara noted that there was an increase in reported Covid-19 cases over the past week.

5% of people who were tested were found to be positive for the virus. Deaths decreased slightly although they remain on similar levels to previous weeks. Recoveries were also on similar levels as previous weeks, although there was a slight increase.

There were 5% more recoveries than new cases.

Turning to the situation in Europe, Marmara noted that there was a decrease in new cases in the UK, Spain and Germany, while the numbers in Italy and France remained stable.

Marmara said that it is very important that people remain vigilant during this period, when schoolchildren are on their Carnival holidays. This is a time when many social activities usually take place, he noted. “It is very important, especially given the high numbers we are experiencing, that everyone acts responsibly and considers the risks, both of contracting the virus and of transmitting it to others.”