The Government believes the UK's coronavirus R number is above one – and the growth rate is rising in the South West.
For the UK as a whole, the R rate is 1.0 to 1.2, which means on average every 10 infected people will infect between 10 and 12 other people.
And the UK's growth rate is minus -1 per cent to +3 per cent – meaning the number of new infections is somewhere between shrinking by 1 per cent and growing by 3 per cent every day.
The Government Office for Science says "the most likely true values are somewhere towards the middle" of the ranges given in these figures.
This would mean the most likely R rate is around 1.1 – which would see the virus spread exponentially.
The South West has a slightly lower R number range than the UK average, but a higher growth rate.
In the region, R is 0.9 to 1.2, which is a rise from 0.8 to 1.1 last week.
Its growth rate has also increased, reaching a range of -1 per cent to +4 per cent.
This is a rise from last week, when the South West's growth rate was between -4 per cent and +1 per cent.
In previous weeks, the Government has released these figures with the caveat that case numbers are too low for the R or growth rate to inform policy decisions.
This caveat is not included in the latest release of figures, which could indicate local lockdown measures are possible in any region.
A further 14 cases were reported in Bristol yesterday (Thursday), as well as seven in South Gloucestershire, two in Bath & North East Somerset and one in North Somerset.
It comes after four Bristol schools confirmed cases yesterday.
