The UK’s Covid R rate has remained between 0.6 and 0.9, scientists advising the government have said. 

R measures the number of people, on average, that each sick person will infect.

If R is greater than 1 the epidemic is generally seen to be growing; if R is less than 1 the epidemic is shrinking.

The estimate, published on Friday and provided by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) and the Department for Health and Social Care, is the same as last week.

Here’s what the R rate is in each region

In England as a whole, the R rate is 0.7 to 0.9, while regionally it is as follows:

East of England – 0.6 to 0.8 (last week 0.6 to 0.8)

London – 0.6 to 0.8 (0.6 to 0.8) 

Midlands – 0.7 to 0.9 (0.6 to 0.9) 

North-east and Yorkshire – 0.7 to 0.9 (0.7 to 1.0)

North-west – 0.7 to 0.9 (0.6 to 0.9)

South-east – 0.7 to 0.9 (0.6 to 0.8)

South-west – 0.6 to 0.8 (0.6 to 0.9)

In Scotland the latest figures estimate the R rate is between 0.7 and 0.9, the same as last week.  

In Wales the R rate has also remained the same, estimated to be between 0.7 and 0.9. 

And in Northern Ireland it is estimated to be between 0.8 and 1.05. 

It comes as the government announced it would accept the recommendation from its scientific advisers that the next phase of the vaccine rollout should continue to be based on age.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the under-50s should be give priority in this order:

• All those aged 40-49 years
• All those aged 30-39 years
• All those aged 18-29 years

It rejected demands that key workers, such as teachers, be bumped up the list irrespective of age.

The JCVI said targeting occupational groups would be more complex to deliver and could slow down the vaccine programme, leaving some more vulnerable people at higher risk unvaccinated for longer. 

The latest official figures show 18,691,835 people have so far been offered at least one dose of a vaccine.