THE R number for the South East is between 0.8 and 1.0 according to new figures released by the Government this evening.
The figure is the average number a sick person could pass the virus on to. If it is above 1.0 then the infected person is transmitting Covid-19 to more than one person. If it is below, then the virus has a good chance of petering out.
Although the rate is high, the South West is higher: it has an R number range of 0.8-1.1.
And the Government said that the estimate does not necessarily mean that Covid-19 is spreading. It could mean that there is a localised outbreak bringing the rate of infection up.
At today’s Downing Street press conference, transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We want to keep the R number below 1.0. R is the average number of additional people infected by each infected person.”
He also said: “Results from the ONS infection survey published this morning estimate that the number of people who tested positive for coronavirus in England fell from 152,000 between 27 April and 10 May, to 33,000 between 25 May and 7 June.
“This is encouraging progress and suggests that around 1 in 1,700 people in the community had coronavirus during the latest period of the survey.”
Wokingham borough falls within the south east NHS region. To date, it has had 453 confirmed cases, a rate of 269.7 per 100,000 residents – the borough’s population was counted at 167,979 in 2018.
The Government is allowing non-essential shops to open from Monday, and is anticipating an increased number of people using public transport to get to work.
Wearing a face covering is mandatory if on a bus or train, and it will be possible for drivers to turn people away if they are not. Fines will be issued for those who don’t comply.
Mr Shapps said: “If you can work from home, you should continue to do so.
“If you cannot work from home, you should try to avoid public transport.
“If you must use public transport, you should travel at quieter times of day.
“And if you’re an employer, you should do everything in your power to prevent staff from travelling, unless it’s absolutely vital and please do allow staff to travel at quieter times.”
An earlier version of this article said that the R number figure is “the likelihood of a person infected with coronavirus passing it on to another person”. We have changed this to make the explanation of the R number clearer.
