The government has expressed concerns over eight states where the R factor continues to rise above the 1-mark, calling it a 'significant problem'. The R-value indicates the speed at which the coronavirus pandemic is spreading - even a slight increase in the R-value can indicate an impending upward trend again. The value indicates that one infected person is spreading the virus to more than one person. If this is true, then the number of cases will gradually increase. If the value is less than 1, it mathematically means that an infected person is spreading the virus to less than one.