Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the basic reproduction rate of COVID-19 (1) inside, and (2) outside, of care homes, as of 30 April; what comparative analysis they have conducted of those figures; and what conclusions they have drawn from any such analysis.

We do not currently have reproduction (R) rates for care homes. The Government Office for Science published the latest R number range for the United Kingdom on 15 May. The range of 0.7-1.0 is an estimate based on latest data available to determine infection and transmission rates.

The Government is committed to publishing the scientific evidence that has informed the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ advice. These papers are being published in batches. The latest batches were released on 20 March 2020 and 5 May 2020 and the next batch will published in the coming weeks. The full list of papers released to date is available on the GOV.UK site at Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency’s (SAGE): Coronavirus (COVID-19) response in an online only format. This list will be updated to reflect papers considered at recent and future meetings.