R number now between 1.1 to 1.2, but slowdown will not be reflected in death toll for several weeks
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The rate of increase of new coronavirus infections in England appears to be slowing, data suggests, although the death toll is expected to remain high for weeks to come.
The latest estimate for the R number – the number of people each infected person goes on to infect – is between 1.0-1.2 for the UK and 1.1-1.2 for England, down from 1.1-1.3 for both the week before. If R is above 1, the epidemic will grow; below 1 it will eventually fizzle out.
