COVID ‘R’ rate now likely to be 1.6

This means the R rate is likely to be around 1.6 at present. ‘R’ represents the number of individuals who, on average, will be infected by a single person with the infection.

The seven day rolling average for new cases has more than doubled in the last week,the Department of Health has confirmed.

There is also a further increase in test positivity.

This, it has been stated, is partly due to increased testing in the context of the Test, Trace, and Protect service.

However, the Department has cautioned that community transmission of the coronavirus has gone up and hospital admissions have also begun to rise, though remain at a low level compared to the first wave peak.