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THE crucial coronavirus R rate has crept back up above 1 in some parts of England, latest figures show.
Research by Public Health England and Cambridge University suggests the reproduction rate is 1.01 in the North West and 1.0 in the South West.
It also warned that there is some evidence the value has risen in all regions, saying it was probably due to increasing mobility and mixing between households in public and work settings.
Speaking at tonight's Downing Street briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that while it is "very important" to look at all studies relating to the R rate, SAGE's overall assessment is that it remains between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK.
Mr Hancock did acknowledge that the North West and South West presents a "challenge", while adding that there is a "higher incidence of new cases among health care staff".
He said there is a huge package of work underway by the NHS "to get transmission of coronavirus in hospital right down".
In recent weeks it's been noted that the R rate is likely to be higher in care home settings, creating pockets of higher transmission which could push the average up.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, confirmed today that the R rate for England was between 0.7 and 1 but remained between 0.7 and 0.9 for the UK as a whole.
The R-number is the average number of people that will contract coronavirus from an infected person.
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