How much coronavirus is spreading in your region with R-rate just below 1

The South West has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Britain as an R number for each region has been published for the first time.

The North East and East Midlands are estimated to have the next highest rates followed by the North West.

The “reproduction rate” number is crucial to the pace lockdown is lifted across the country.

If it goes above 1 new restrictions could be put in place as it means the outbreak is increasing.

Ministers had refused to publish a breakdown by region but Labour’s Manchester Mayor Andy Burnam released them today.

The data was compiled by the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

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Mr Burnham tweeted: “In the absence of a Government commitment to do so, I promised to publish regular updates on regional R numbers. “So here’s a table published today.

Not a great deal of ‘room for manoeuvre’, as the Chief Scientific Adviser told the @10DowningStreet daily briefing.”

Officially the UK as a whole has an R of between 0.7 and 0.9 but Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance has said a slight increase could be dangerous.

All regions were deemed to have infection rates either “decreasing” or “likely decreasing” apart from the South West.

The region tends to have an older population and less NHS capacity. The data will spark fears about an influx of tourists to hotspots such as Cornwall as lockdown is eased.

Originally the South West had the lowest number of Covid-19 cases but infections have taken longer to fall.

It comes during a crucial phase with lockdown measures being lifted from Monday allowing groups of up to six to meet outside, including in gardens.

In Wales people from two different households will be allowed to meet up from Monday but people are expected to stay local. In Scotland two households can meet up from Friday.

The reproduction, or R number, is a way of measuring the ability of a disease to spread. It is the average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to.

Metro mayors for Manchester and Liverpool called on Boris Johnson earlier this month to urgently release regional R rates.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, they said relaxing the Stay at Home message “may have come too early” for Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region.

The Government insisted it was taking “the right steps at the right time”.

Mr Burnham and Mr Rotheram asked for an “up-to-date reproduction ‘R’ number at a regional and sub-regional level on a daily or regular basis”.

Their letter said: “We believe this is essential information which will help our residents make informed decisions about the risk and help decide whether they wish to take a more cautious approach to the relaxation of the lockdown rules, given the risk locally.”

Top 10 with highest R rating

South West - 0.9
North East - 0.8
East Midlands - 0.8
North West - 0.8
West Midlands - 0.8
Scotland - 0.8
Yorkshire and the Humber - 0.7
East of England - 0.7
Wales - 0.7
South East - 0.7
London - 0.7