Coronavirus is now passed on at double the rate in the north east compared to London, a study shows.
Modelling by Public Health England and Cambridge University suggests 10 Covid-19 carriers in the capital will currently pass the virus to four others on average.
But in the north east and Yorkshire they will, on average, currently pass the virus to 8 others.
Overall the figure - known as the reproduction rate or 'R' - varies from 0.4 to 0.8 across the country according to the modelling dated May 12.
The Midlands has the second-lowest rate at 0.68 while all other regions are between 0.7 and 0.8.
The big difference could be down to a range of factors including how people mix with others, and how many people have already been infected.
It raises once again the possibility that different areas of England could end up under different restrictions.
Government officials have said the lockdown will be eased at the same rate across the whole of England.
But elements of it could be reimposed locally if the virus begins to run out of control on a local level.
The government's lockdown 'roadmap' has since revealed more detail - showing how schools, offices or other sites could have to shut locally.
It explains a new Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) will be tasked with monitoring "local spikes" in infections and recommending "specific actions" to take.
These could include "advising Ministers, businesses and local partners to close schools or workplaces where infection rates have spiked, to reduce risk of further infection locally."
Yesterday Sir Ian Diamond, the national statistician, told MPs "much more localised strategies" could be used to stop a second peak.
According to The Times, he told a committee: “We need therefore to be able to have the data to enable the policy to be made.”
The 'R' is the crucial number that helps the government decide how far and fast to ease the lockdown.
If R goes above 1, it means the virus spreads exponentially and quickly overwhelms the NHS.
If R is below 1, new patients are still being infected but the overall number of cases slowly falls.
Boris Johnson faces calls from the mayors of Liverpool and Greater Manchester to publish a more detailed regional breakdown of the R.
The pair wrote to the PM this week: "Here in the North West, we continued to experience the highest number of new cases last week and are not yet on the clear downward trajectory seen in other parts of the country."
