Covid-19 cases in the North West are falling and R rate is below one

The data is for up to June 16, which is the most recent date currently available due to lags in the system of preparing and publishing statistics..

It shows the North West's reproduction, or R, number is currently around 0.7, with 0.6 and 0.9 given as intervals.

There have also been 26 new cases in the region confirmed by infection date.

However, it is expected that the number of daily cases of Covid-19 in the North West will fall.

Five regions in the UK have R rates of above one in the latest data.

And the North West is one of just two regions where the expected case levels are decreasing, although in two other areas it is likely to be going down.

The R rate is crucial to the Government's plans to ease lockdown and return the country to something like normality.

An R rate above one means that, on average, someone with Covid-19 infects more than one person with the disease.