The coronavirus reproduction number, or R value, in England is between 0.8 and 1, according to the latest Government figures, 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.
R represents the average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect and is based on data available as of March 29.
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% to 0%, which means the number of new infections is shrinking by up to 4% each day.
The Department of Health said: "The UK estimates of R and growth rate are averages over different epidemiological situations and should be regarded as a guide to the general trend rather than a description of the epidemic state.
"Given the increasingly localised approach to managing the epidemic, particularly between nations, UK-level estimates are less meaningful than previously and may not accurately reflect the current picture of the epidemic.
"The R value and growth rates for the 4 nations and NHS England regions are more robust and useful metrics than those for the whole UK."
