Confused about r number

[beentoldcomputersaysno]

So cases in England have risen 62 per cent since last week. Why has r number decreased?

If the R number is above 1 cases are increasing (as it refers to the number of people on average that each person with the virus passes it onto). So it can drop (eg from 1.4 to 1.2) and cases are still going up as R is still above 1.

I think it’s a bit more technical than that but that’s the basic principle.

The r value is also lagged and represents transmission 2 to 3 weeks ago. The latest measure is between 1.2 and 1.4 so growth of 4 to 7% per day.