Coronavirus ‘R’ rate as high as one, says SAGE
The official estimate of the ‘R’ rate has risen slightly over the last week, according to the scientists advising the government on the coronavirus outbreak.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said the reproduction number is now between 0.7 and one, up from 0.5 to 0.9 last week.
Part of the requirements of easing lockdown further is to keep the R rate below one.
The R rate is a measure of the reproduction rate of the virus. A number above one means it’s growing, while anything below one is shrinking.
The increase is being attributed to cases in care homes and hospitals accounting for a greater proportion of the total. Last week, the government announced the R rate in London was the lowest in the country.
Fewer than 24 people are now catching coronavirus in the capital, according to figures by Public Health England and Cambridge University.
New modelling statistics suggest London could be coronavirus-free by June after the R rate fell to 0.4, compared to around 2.8 before lockdown.
The UK’s highest rate of infection is in the North East and Yorkshire, at 0.8. It is seeing around 4,320 new infections a day, researchers said.
The death toll in the UK rose by 384 today, bringing the total to 33,998. In the last 24 hours, a further 3,560 people have tested positive for the disease.
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