uk-r R number for UK has fallen to between 1 and 1.2 The R number for the UK has fallen to between 1 and 1.2, the closest it's been to 1 since early September. It comes as the Office for National Statistics says the number of people infected with coronavirus is slowing down. Data up to 6 November, the day after England's second lockdown began, shows infections falling in the north west but rising in the south and Midlands. In Northern Ireland, infection rates were levelling off, the ONS says. But in Wales rising infection levels were still continuing. And it's too early to say if they were stabilising a week ago in Scotland. Although growth may be slowing in some parts of the country, the government's scientific advisers say "significant levels of healthcare demand and mortality will persist until R is reduced to and remains well below 1 for an extended period of time". An estimate of the R number, or reproduction number, of the virus is published every week and based on a number of different sources of data, including the ONS infection survey. ontario Ontario reports 1,396 new coronavirus cases, 19 more deaths Ontario reported 1,396 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, ending three days of record-breaking case counts, bringing the provincial total to 91,180. Friday’s case count is a decrease from Thursday’s which saw 1,575 new infections — a record single-day high. On Wednesday, 1,426 cases were reported, Tuesday saw 1,388 and Monday with 1,242. However, this is the eighth straight day that daily case counts have been above 1,000. The seven-day average is now at 1,355 which is up from last Friday at 977 showing a sharp growth in cases. Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said 440 new cases were recorded in Toronto, 440 in Peel Region, 155 in York Region and 55 in Halton Region. All other public health units in Ontario reported under 50 new cases.

dolt Billionaire Trump backer who got August quarantine exemption in Canada tests positive for COVID-19 Liz Uihlein, a critic of coronavirus restrictions, visited Canadian facility in August A U.S. billionaire who was granted a special exemption from Canada's 14-day pandemic quarantine, despite her public criticism of COVID-19 restrictions, has now contracted the disease. Liz Uihlein, the 75-year-old president and CEO of Wisconsin-based shipping supply firm Uline Inc., sent a memo to employees on Nov. 11 informing them that she and her husband, Dick Uihlein, had tested positive and were isolating at home. "After all these long months, I thought we'd never get it. Well, Trump got it..." reads the company-wide email, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News. "If we had not been around people with COVID-19, we would not have been tested. We would have been at Uline." The memo says the pair, who started the company in their basement in 1980 and grew it to an almost $6 billion US a year business, intend to return to the office on Nov. 19. In September, a CBC News Investigation revealed that Liz Uihlein and two other company executives flew to Toronto on a private jet in late August for a three-day visit to Uline's facility in Milton, Ont., and were granted an exemption from Canada's mandatory 14-day COVID quarantine. Halton Regional Police were called to the building to investigate claims that the U.S. visitors were holding large group meetings without masks, but it's not clear if any action was taken. uk Covid: UK daily cases reach new high of 33,470 A record 33,470 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK government's latest daily figure. It is the highest daily number reported in the UK, although testing capacity has increased greatly since the first wave of the epidemic. It brings the total number of cases in the UK to more than 1.29 million. Government minister Alok Sharma said rising case numbers were "a reminder to us about why we are taking action to stop the spread of the virus". On Wednesday the UK became the first country in Europe to pass 50,000 Covid deaths, based on government figures. On Thursday, a further 563 people were reported to have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test, down from Wednesday's figure of 595. Other ways to measure deaths, such as the number of people whose death certificates mention Covid-19, have put the overall toll at more than 60,000.