THE saga over a widely shared notice claiming there was a spike in coronavirus cases in Worcester played out over the weekend.

Worcestershire County Council called the notice entitled ‘Covid R rate up in Worcester City’ a “leaked, unofficial email” but stressed there was no cause for alarm.

Despite this reassurance there were many comments online that suggested people were understandably worried.

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And rightly so as questions still remain unanswered. For example, what is the R rate for Worcester?

The government releases this information for the West Midlands (it is the highest of all English regions at at 0.8-1.0) but there is not a breakdown for cities like ours.

We asked Worcestershire County Council if they could provide this key rate of infection number, but their statement did not include a response - only mentioning the 0.7 - 0.9 for the whole of England.

As we loosen the lockdown our readers expect crucial information like this to be available. We are all adults, tell us the truth whether the numbers are going up or down.