Awkward! Johnson proved wrong to ease lockdown as ‘R’ rate rises in most English regions
One of the main reasons Boris Johnson has given for easing lockdown conditions in England from July 4 is a reduction in the reproduction rate of Covid-19.
He said that, with ‘R’ well below 1 – meaning for each person infected, fewer than one person would catch the disease – restrictions could be loosened.
But it seems he spoke too soon. Look at this:
Skwawkbox explains:
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has tweeted the latest regional ‘R’-rate table showing how fast the coronavirus is spreading across England’s twelve regions – and the news is bad in all of them but one.
As Burnham pointed out, the ‘R’ has risen in every region except the south-east – and is at or above one in almost half, meaning the pool of infection was either increasing or not reducing. The latest table shows data as of 10 June and so would not reflect the acceleration effect of Johnson’s more recent relaxations of England’s lockdown.
The increases mean that, across the whole of England, the ‘R’ rate is no longer below one – yet Johnson ploughs ahead with a reduction in social distancing and the re-opening of retail and hospitality
Maybe it’s a blip!
Maybe the ‘R’ rate will settle down again.
But other countries have slammed their own lockdowns back on at the slightest increase.
Johnson is being dangerously – possibly homicidally – cavalier with our lives.
Source: ‘R’ rate rises in every English region but one – before Johnson’s lockdown changes – SKWAWKBOX
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