NEWS SPECIAL
COVID ROUTE MAP BY ANTONY BEGLEY, PUBLISHING DIRECTOR, SLR
SCOTTISH ‘ROUTE MAP’ OUT OF LOCKDOWN THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT PUBLISHED ITS ‘ROUTE MAP’ LAST WEEK FOR HOW IT INTENDS TO EASE SCOTLAND OUT OF LOCKDOWN OVER THE COMING MONTHS. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.
WHAT IS THE ‘R’ NUMBER AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? The R number is the rate of reproduction and conveys the average number of people that would be infected by one individual with the virus. If R is 2, then two people would be infected by one person on average. Consequently, if R is above 1 it shows that the virus is spreading in the population and if it is below 1, the virus is declining in the population. R is currently estimated to be between 0.7 and 1.0 in Scotland. At the start of lockdown, the Scottish Government believes it was between 4 and 6.
10 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 6 / WEDNESDAY 27TH MAY 2020
