This Morning: Matthew Wright discusses the UK R rate
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The R-number is a way of rating coronavirus or any other viral infection's ability to spread around the population. R is the number of people that one infected person will pass a virus on to next, on average. Scientists cannot capture the moment people are infected, but instead work out the numbers using the R-rate. Data, such as the number of people dying, being admitted to hospital or testing positive for Covid over time, is used to estimate how easily and quickly the virus is spreading among the country.
What is the R number?
Currently, the R-number or rate of infection in England is between 0.7 and 0.9, according to Government scientific advisers.
The fact it stands under one for the country is a good thing, and it has dropped significantly in recent months.
But when you break down region-by-region in England, some parts of the country still have worryingly high rates.
England's northeast and Yorkshire has an upper bound of one currently.
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© GettyR-rate latest: What is the R-number? Regional breakdown exposed
© GettyR-rate latest: UK town
The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) said: "Although the epidemic continues to decrease nationally, there may be more variation in transmission locally, with some indication that the rate of decline in infections could be slowing in some areas."
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday show Covid cases are continuing to fall across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
However, a regional breakdown of the information found four regions where the trend remains uncertain:
- North East
- East Midlands
- East of England
- Yorkshire
© GettyR-rate latest: Hospital death
© Daily ExpressR-rate latest: Covid in the UK
Although the number still remains under one, the R-rate has risen slightly in recent weeks despite cases falling to their lowest level since September.
The rate of people testing positive for the virus dropped a huge 19 percent in a single week, which indicates that lockdown measures could be effective.
The growth rate means the number of new infections is shrinking by between three and five percent every day.
Falling death rates have also been recorded this week, in good news for the Prime Minister's lockdown strategy.
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© GettyR-rate latest: Covid test
There were 242 people recorded as having died from coronavirus on Thursday, down by about 35 percent on last week, when February 25 saw 323 covid-related deaths.
The R-number by region in England, according to Government data as of Friday, March 5:
- East of England - 0.6 to 0.8
- Greater London - 0.6 to 0.8
- Midlands - 0.7 to 0.9
- North East and Yorkshire - 0.7 to 1.0
- North West - 0.7 to 0.9
- South East - 0.6 to 0.8
- South West - 0.6 to 0.8
Separately, official figures from the ONS showed the number of people with Covid-19 in homes across England continues to fall.
ONS numbers estimate about in every 220 people in private households in England had Covid between February 21 and February 27 - equivalent to 248,100 people.
However, the number of people infected in England is still really high when compared to last summer, as in the week to August 25, about one in 2,000 people had the virus.
In Wales, the latest estimate was one in 285 people infected, down from 205, and in Northern Ireland it is one in 325, a decrease from one in 195.
The estimate for Scotland for the week to February 27 was about in in 335 people, down from one in 225.