England’s coronavirus reproduction or R number has remained steady at between 1.2 and 1.4, according to the latest government figures.

The R value – which represents the average number of people each COVID-positive person goes on to infect – was the same last week.

When the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially but when it is below 1, it means the coronavirus epidemic is shrinking.

Latest coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world

The current figure means that, on average, every 10 people infected with the virus will go on to infect between 12 and 14 others.

The growth rate for the virus in England shows the number of new infections is growing by between 4% and 6% every day.

Last week, that figure was between 4% and 7%.

The R number and daily growth rate varies across the country indicating where the virus is spreading faster.

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