The UK's coronavirus R number - speed of infection - has remained the same for the second week
Announcing his"road map" out of lockdown, Boris Johnson said ministers would reimpose controls if the rate of transmission started to pick up again.
However, when R increased last Friday from between 0.5 and 0.9 to between 0.7 and 1 - the same as this week's number - Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the figure was just one of a number of other data points that determines when people can socialise again.He said last week's R number was based on data from a fortnight before so he did not believe the figure was above one.
Mr Hancock told Sky News last Saturday:"On the timing, this is based on data from a couple of weeks ago because of the way it is measured but also from the survey data that the ONS has published. "It is an incredibly important figure for policymakers but it is one data point to look at alongside the level of new cases."
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said R is a"really important measure" but what they are really looking for is reducing the number of cases and"getting rid of the epidemic in the UK".:: Listen to the All Out Politics podcast on
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