The Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) says the Covid-19 R number is between 1.2 and 1.5 for the whole of the UK, and the number of new cases is growing by between 4% and 9% every day
The UK’s Coronavirus R number has dropped slightly to 1.5 but the rate of transmission is not slowing, according to new estimates from the Government’s scientific advisers.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said R is between 1.2 and 1.5 for the whole of the UK, down from 1.3-1.6 a week ago, and the epidemic continues to grow “exponentially” across the country.
It is thought that the number of new infections is growing by between 4% and 9% every day.
England’s R number is also between 1.2 and 1.5, but at a regional level it could be as high as 1.6 in the South West and East, where the local growth rate is as high as 11%.
An R number between 1.2 and 1.5 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 12 and 15 other people.
