England's Covid R rate is between 1.2 and 1.3 - the regional breakdown

Latest figures show that the UK’s coronavirus R number is currently between 1.2 and 1.3.

This means that, on average, every 10 people infected with Covid will infect between 12 and 13 other people.

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The R number stands for the reproduction number, and indicates how quickly Covid is spreading. Last week, it was estimated that the R number was between 1 and 1.4.

The UK’s growth rate is now estimated to be between +2 per cent and +5 per cent, whereas last week this was at between 0 per cent and +6 per cent.

“A growth rate of between +2 per cent and +5 per cent means that the number of new infections is growing by between 2 per cent and 5 per cent every day,” said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

What is the R number and growth rate around England?

The R number has gone down slightly in London, the South East, South West, the North East and Yorkshire.

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However, it has risen slightly in the East of England, Midlands and North West.

These are the latest R number and growth rate estimates for NHS England regions:

  • England: 1.1-1.3 and +1 to +4
  • East of England: 1.0-1.3 and 0 to +4
  • London: 0.9-1.2 and -2 to +3
  • Midlands: 1.2-1.4 and +2 to +6
  • North East and Yorkshire: 1.1-1.3 and +2 to +5
  • North West: 1.2-1.5 and +3 to +7
  • South East: 1.0-1.2 and -1 to +3
  • South West: 1.2-1.5 and +4 to +7

These estimates represent the transmission of Covid over the past few weeks, due to the time delay between someone being infected, having symptoms, and needing healthcare.

Estimates for the R number and growth rates are shown as a range, with the true values likely to lie within this range.