The reproduction number, or R value, of coronavirus transmission across the UK is now between 0.9 and 1, the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said.
Last week, the R number was between 0.8 and 1.
R 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.
An R number between 0.9 and 1 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 9 and 10 other people.
Meanwhile, the R value in England is between 0.8 and 1, but Sage said it is not confident that R is below 1 in all English regions, particularly in London and parts of the South East.
