England’s R number could be as high as 1

Covid vaccination
PA Wire

The coronavirus reproduction number, or R value, in England is between 0.8 and 1, according to the latest Government figures.

This is compared to a figure of between 0.7 and 0.9 for the whole of the UK last week.

A UK-wide estimate of R rate has not been agreed by Sage this week.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that as restrictions are lifted at different rates across the four nations, a UK-level estimate for R becomes a less meaningful measure of the pandemic.

The R rate represents the average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect.

When the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially, but when it is below 1, it means the epidemic is shrinking.

An R number between 0.8 and 1 means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between eight and 10 other people.

The latest growth rate is between minus 4 per cent to 0 per cent, which means the number of new infections is shrinking by up to 4 per cent each day.

In a statement, the Government said they expect cases “will begin to increase as we move through the roadmap”.

“But as we continue with our remarkable vaccination programme we are going to protect the most vulnerable and prevent people from contracting serious illness, while reducing pressure on the NHS.”

More than 31 million people in the UK have so far received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

The government has set a goal of offering everyone over 50 and high risk groups a vaccine by April 15.

It comes as four more countries have been added to the UK's travel red list amid concerns about new Covid-19 variants.

From 4am on Friday April 9, international visitors who have departed from or transited through the Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England.

The Department for Transport said only British and Irish citizens, or those with residence rights in the UK (including long-term visa holders), will be allowed to enter and they must stay in a Government-approved quarantine facility for 10 days.

They will also be required to arrive into a designated port.

No direct flight bans from the countries will be put in place but passengers are being advised to check their travel plans before departing for England.

The latest restrictions take the total number of countries on England’s red list to 39.

Earlier this month, Mauritius and Portugal were removed from the red list while Oman, Ethiopia, Qatar and Somalia were added.

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