The rate of people contracting coronavirus in England was significantly reduced in the month before lockdown restrictions were lifted, a new study claims.
New research from Imperial College London says the rate of infection throughout the country was halving every eight to nine days during May.
The study claims there were on average 13 positive cases for every 10,000 people, with an overall reproduction number of 0.57 - lower than previously reported.
Researchers tested more than 120,000 volunteers aged over five across the country for Covid-19. About 69% of those who tested positive reported no symptoms on the day of the test or the previous week, though they may have developed symptoms later.