ST HELENS’ director of Public Health has urged people to stay home wherever possible after it was revealed the coronavirus ‘R’ number has risen above 1 in the North West.
Public Health England (PHE) has today given a regional breakdown of the COVID-19 transmission number, or the R value, a critical measure of how quickly coronavirus is spreading.
The analysis, which has been done in conjunction with Cambridge University, shows the North West R number is 1.01, higher than anywhere in the country.
When the data was last released several weeks ago, the R number in the North West was 0.73.
The R value is the number of people one infected person will infect, on average.
When the R number is below one it means every infected person can pass it on to less than one other person and will eventually peter out.
But if the reproduction number is higher than one, then the number of cases increases exponentially.
Across the UK, the government has said the R value is between 0.7 and 0.9.
The PHE analysis says: “We believe it is probable that Rt (the R number) is below 1 in all regions of England with the exception of the North West and the South West.
“In the South West, although Rt is around 1, the numbers of new infections occurring in the region on a daily basis is relatively low
“There is some evidence that Rt has risen in all regions and we believe that this is probably due to increasing mobility and mixing between households and in public and workplace settings.
“An increase in Rt will lead to a slowdown in the decrease in new infections and deaths.”
The number of confirmed new cases in St Helens has slowed considerably in recent weeks, however, it is unclear what the R rate is locally.
Sue Forster, director of Public Health, has said that since the outbreak in mid-March infection and death rates have been higher in Merseyside than in other parts of the country.
Ms Forster said: “Despite some relaxation of lockdown, residents across St Helens borough are advised to continue to stay at home wherever possible, follow strict social distancing measures (maintaining 2 metre distance), follow good hand washing practice, self-isolate if you display any symptoms of COVID-19 and ensure you book a test if you do display symptoms via the NHS website on www.nhs.uk
“This is because the infection and death rates are higher in Merseyside than in other parts of the country.
“Staying at home will help to stop the spread of the virus.
“If you are self-isolating and need support, you can call our volunteer helpline on 01744 676767 or visit sthelens.gov.uk.”
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