The coronavirus R rate that measures the transmission level has risen above 1 in parts of London, which could see localised lockdowns.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) who advise the government have warned that in parts of London the R rate stands between 0.8 and 1.1.
The government have previously said that if the R number rises above 1 then localised lockdown will be implemented to prevent the spread of the virus.
SAGE stated in their report, that the regional fluctuations were “not considered to be significant due to the small size of the changes.”
The report added, “The most likely explanation for these changes is the uncertainty created when estimating these values based on increasingly smaller numbers of cases.”
The growth rate in London rose from between -6% and 0% to between -4% and +2%, this data suggests that the rate of spread of coronavirus is growing across the capital.
When the growth rate of the virus rises above zero and positive coronavirus will grow, and when it is less than zero the virus starts to disappear.
The Prime Minister said, “We need to move away from blanket national measures to targeted local measures.
“So, instead of locking down the whole country, we will lock down specific premises, or local areas where the virus is spreading.”
Imperial College London’s Professor Neil Ferguson warned this week that more localised lockdowns are “inevitable.”
Professor Ferguson told BBC Radio 4s Today programme, “It is inevitable we will have further local outbreaks.
“We are relaxing lockdown rules and that means that contacts in the population are going up and that is a very variable process.”
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