The reproduction rate of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom is now somewhere between 0.7 and 1.0, government scientific advisers said on Friday, a slight rise on figures given last week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week the rate was 0.5 to 0.9. The government has said it will keep a close eye on the so-called 'R' rate as it looks at how quickly to ease lockdown measures first introduced in March.
As the number is below one, the virus is not spreading exponentially, but the rise in the number means that infections are falling more slowly now.
Asked at the government's daily news conference about the rise, health minister Matt Hancock said the key thing for the easing of lockdown was that the R is still not above 1.