The R rate for Wales remains higher than that of England according to the latest figures.

The latest estimates put the R rate in Wales at around 1.1 but some estimates put it as high as 1.4.

By contrast the rate for the whole of England is between 0.9 and one (up from 0.8 and one last week).

Why is there a difference?

Wales and England are at very different points.

England has just come to the end of a month long lockdown where the virus has been very repressed. Wales has been out of the fire-break for a month which is why the r rate is high.

However the Welsh Government is immensely concerned about the rise in cases.

The led them to increase measures in Wales adding school closures to the restrictions already placed on hospitality.

You can read the full analysis here.

Over the summer it was very hard for experts and modellers to come up with an exact R number because there was so little of the virus in circulation.

However, it has now reached the point where the virus is so widespread that experts are able to say with more certainty what it is in Wales.

The R number represents the amount of people each person with Covid-19 is infecting with the virus.

If it goes above one the number of people becoming infected with the virus will grow exponentially but for as long as it remains below one the number of people infected with the virus will continue to fall.

Even if the R rate is falling any figure above one means cases of the virus are on the rise.

Find out how many cases are in your area:

What about other parts of the UK?

The Department of Health in England publishes the R number for every region once a week.

• East of England – 0.9-1.1 (same)
• London – 0.9 to 1.1 (same)
• Midlands – 0.8-1 (rise)
• North east and Yorkshire – 0.7-0.9 (fall)
• North west – 0.7 to 0.9 (same)
• South east – 0.9 to 1.1 (same)
• South west – 0.8 to 1 (rise)

Scotland has a current range of between 0.7 and 0.9 which is slightly lower than last week.