{"id":150468,"date":"2022-01-25T07:24:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T07:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=150468"},"modified":"2022-01-25T07:24:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T07:24:17","slug":"covid-r-rate-creeps-up-and-could-be-1-1-in-parts-of-uk-amid-fears-of-indian-variant-spreading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/covid-r-rate-creeps-up-and-could-be-1-1-in-parts-of-uk-amid-fears-of-indian-variant-spreading\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid R rate creeps up and could be 1.1 in parts of UK – amid fears of Indian variant spreading"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE official coronavirus R rate has risen slightly in England<\/strong> this week.<\/p>\n

Government advisers at Sage say the value now sits between 0.8 and 1.1.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd35<\/strong> Read our coronavirus live blog\u00a0for the latest updates<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It comes as surge testing has been rolled out across the country in order to detect cases of the Indian and South African variants.<\/p>\n

Experts fear the Indian variant could be more transmissible than the Kent variant but it is not thought that it can evade vaccines.<\/p>\n

Last week the rate sat between 0.8 and 1 – but that it may have been as high as 1.1 in some parts.<\/p>\n

The R rate in England has remained relatively constant since February 5, having peaked on January 15\u00a0at between 1.2 and 1.3.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the last few weeks Sage has been unable to give a rate for the UK as a whole.<\/p>\n

When cases are so low, the R rate is a less reliable indication of the spread of infection – this is why when infections are low – as they are now – the rate is widened as measuring it becomes more challenging and less accurate.<\/p>\n

It comes as: <\/strong><\/p>\n