Growth rate of Covid-19 transmission drops slightly – new figures

THE growth rate of Covid-19 transmission in the UK has dropped slightly in the last week, new figures published by the government show.

Data released yesterday revealed the growth rate has dropped to between minus 5% and minus 2% per day, compared with a rate of minus 6% to 0% per day last week.

The growth rate reflects how quickly the number of infections is changing day by day and, as the number of infections decreases, it is a way of keeping track of the virus.

If the growth rate is greater than zero, and therefore positive, then the disease will grow, and if the growth rate is less than zero, then the disease will shrink.

However, there is some regional variation between the figures.

In the East of England, the growth rate rose from between minus 5% to 0% last week, to between minus 4% and plus 1%, indicating the rate of spread of the disease is growing in the area.

The figures come as beauty salons, outdoor pools and outdoor performances gear up to open in the next few days.

In London, the growth rate is between minus 5% and plus 1%, compared to between minus 4% and plus 2% last week.

In the South West, the growth rate dropped from between minus 7% and plus 2% to between minus 6% and plus 1%.

And in England, the growth rate is between minus 4% and minus 1%, compared with between minus 5% and minus 2% last week.

Meanwhile, the current rate of transmission for Covid-19 for the country as a whole remains at less than one.

The R value, which is the number of people each Covid-19-positive person goes on to infect, remains unchanged, sitting at between 0.7 and 0.9.

R estimates do not indicate how quickly an epidemic is changing and different diseases with the same R can result in epidemics that grow at very different speeds.

There is also variation in the figures from region to region.

The R rate for England is between 0.8 and 1, up from between 0.8 and 0.9 last week.

In the East of England, the R rate is between 0.7 and 1, up from 0.7 and 0.9 previously.

Meanwhile in the South West, the R rate rose to between 0.7 and 1.1, compared with 0.7 to 1 from last week.