The South West's coronavirus infection rate has surged this week, but still remains one of the lowest in the country.
New data released by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies shows our region's R number is now between 0.9 and 1.2, up from 0.8-1.0 last week.
This means every ten people with the virus could be spreading it to up to 12 others.
Meanwhile, our growth rate has risen from -4 to 0, which showed the virus was shrinking, to 0 to +3. This means the virus could be spreading by up to three per cent every day.
The highest R rate is in the East of England, where it is estimated to be between 1.2-14, compared to 1.1-1.3 in the South East and London.
Both the North West and North East and Yorkshire had the lowest R, of 0.9 -1.1.
England's rate is between 1.1 and 1.3, and shows the virus is spreading exponentially, just days before restrictions are lifted for Christmas.
Of the 315 local government areas in England, 51 have seen their rolling seven-day rate of new cases double or more.
