The reproduction number, or R value, of coronavirus transmission across the UK remains above 1.

Data released on Friday by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) shows the estimate for R across the UK is between 1.1 and 1.4.

The higher R is above 1, the faster the epidemic is growing, it said.

And just a small change in the infection rate can lead to a huge increase in cases

From a 'zero day' infection if the R number were 0.5 there would be fewer than 1,000 cases after 60 days.

An R number of 1.0 would lead to around 12,000 cases. An R number of 1.1 would lead to 25,000 cases in 60 days.