The transmission rate of coronavirus has remained steady for a second week in a row. The R number - which is the average number of people an infected person will pass the disease on to - remained between 0.7 and 1 across the UK, government scientific advisors revealed.
There is a time lag in the calculations, with the latest R value relating to what was happening two to three weeks ago. The latest rate is the same as the one released last week and remains higher than the previous one, which was between 0.5 and 0.9.
The lack of downward movement is thought to be driven by the continued spread of the virus in care homes and hospitals during the period covered rather than the wider community.