[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]Overall, Hancock said the transmission rate was heading down but that there were a couple of areas causing concern.
He said the transmission rate is highest in the northwest of England, which includes the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, followed by the less densely populated southwest.
Hancock said the government wants to “increasingly have an approach in tackling local lockdowns where we spot a flare-up.” Such an approach could potentially see the government re-imposing restrictions locally.The scientists, many of whom work in infectious disease, biology and immunology, are particularly vexed by the level of community transmission of the virus.