India reports 2.85 lakh new cases and 665 deaths in the past 24 hours. The peak of Covid’s third wave at the national level is expected only in the first week of February even as the current R value (ability of the disease to spread) has been pegged by various agencies at 1.3, a huge drop from 3 in early January, according to noted virologist T Jacob John. Stay with TOI for live updates: