THE 'R rate' in the South West has increased again as medical and council figures in Dorset have warned people not to be complacent and follow coronavirus rules. 

The fresh data, which has been released by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) on Wednesday, December 23 rates the ability to spread Covid-19 and the number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to, on average.

The updated 'R rate' for the South West is now between 1.0 - 1.2, which is slightly lower than the latest R number range for the UK of 1.1 - 1.3.

The current growth rate in the county, including Dorset, is set at +1 to +4, meaning that new infections are growing between one per cent to four per cent every day.

Last week, the South West had an R rate of 0.9 - 1.2, with a growth rate between 0 per cent to 3 per cent.

The R rate for the South West is among the lowest across England, but the R rate in other regions are slowly increasing. London and East of England both have an R rate of 1.2 - 1.5, as the areas entered Tier 4 restrictions. 

These are the latest R estimates by NHS England region: 

Region - R Growth rate - per day

England: 1.1-1.4, +2 to +5

East of England: 1.2-1.5, +4 to +7

London: 1.2-1.5, +4 to +8

Midlands: 1.0-1.2, 0 to +3

North East and Yorkshire: 0.9-1.1, -2 to +2

North West: 0.9-1.1, 0 to +3

South East: 1.2-1.4, +4 to +7

South West 1.0-1.2, +1 to +4

The news comes as Dorset remained in Tier 2 following Matt Hancock's announcement that some areas will move Tiers.

Health Secretary announced tougher measures for large parts of southern and eastern England after a newly discovered variant of coronavirus was spreading at a “dangerous rate”.

He also said cases of another new mutant coronavirus linked to South Africa have been found in the UK and placed travel restrictions on the country.

Dorset, which includes Dorset Council and BCP Council, remains in Tier 2 despite also reporting rising Covid-19 cases across the county. But, the Government’s criteria for Tier allocations will be closely monitored over the coming days and weeks.

Doctor Jane Horne, Consultant in Public Health for Dorset and BCP Councils said: “Our case numbers of people testing positive to Covid-19 are rising across both council areas.

"It is vital people follow all the rules set out by the Government so that we don’t see even further increases. We know that social mixing leads to higher transmission rates.

"I’d urge everyone to think carefully about meeting up with others this Christmas, particularly with those who are more vulnerable.

"Covid isn’t going away, and although priority groups are starting to be vaccinated, it will take a while before this has an effect and we can resume more normal activities.”