England’s Covid R rate remained steady at between 1.0 to 1.2, according to the latest government figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Last week it was also estimated to be between 1.0 and 1.2.
Because there is a lag in the data, the figures do not fully reflect the recent rapid growth of Omicron across the country.
But the regional figures for England do show a rise in London, which has been at the epicentre of the Omicron wave.
Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, told MPs last week the R rate of the Omicron variant alone was estimated to be “between 3 and 5”.
If R is greater than 1 the epidemic is generally seen to be growing; if R is less than 1 the epidemic is shrinking.
It comes as a separate study from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said infection levels have reached a record high in the UK.
Here’s what the R rate is in each region of England:
East of England - 0.1 to 1.2 (unchanged)
London – 1.2 to 1.6 (up from 1.1 to 1.3)
Midlands – 1.0 to 1.1 (0.9 to 1.1)
North-east and Yorkshire – 0.9 to 1.1 (unchanged)
North-west – 0.9 to 1.2 (up from 0.9 to 1.1)
South-east – 0.9 to 1.1 (up from 0.9 to 1.2)
South west – 0.9 to 1.1 (unchanged)
R rate estimates in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are made separately.
In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has said the R number could now be as high as 4.
In Wales the latest official estimate is that R is between 0.9 and 1.1, but this was made before the Omicron surge.
Similarly, in figures that likely do not account for the spread of Omicron, the R rate in Northern Ireland was last estimated to be between 0.9 and1.1.
