London, Oct 10 (IANS): The UK's 'R' rate of coronavirus transmission has dropped slightly to 1.5 from last week's 1.6, according to the latest government figures.

'R' represents the average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect and when the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially.

Data released on Friday by the government's Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) revealed that the number was now between 1.2 and 1.5, down from between 1.3 and 1.6 last week.

SAGE said it was almost certain that the pandemic continues to grow exponentially across the country, and the transmission is not slowing.

"This is currently the case for every region of England and all have positive growth rates, reflecting increases in the number of new infections across the country," it said.

Earlier in the day, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said new Covid-19 cases in England have "increased rapidly", with the rate of new infections at its highest level since May.

There were an average of 17,200 new cases per day in private households between September 25 and October 1, compared with 12,600 new cases per day in the previous week from September 18 to 24, according to the ONS.

It also noted a "marked increase" in the rate of new infections during the last six weeks, which is now at its highest level since the survey began in May.

Pressure is mounting on rime Minister Boris Johnson to consider tighter restriction measures as the country continues to see a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases.

As of Saturday, the number of coronavirus cases in the UK reached 578,390, while the death toll stood at 42,769.