mo4ch:>Coronavirus R0: Is this the crucial number? | Mo4ch News

Coronavirus R0: Is this the crucial number?By James GallagherHealth and science correspondent 30 April 2020 Related TopicsCoronavirus pandemic Image copyrightGetty ImagesThere is a simple, but crucial number at the heart of understanding the threat posed by the coronavirus. It is guiding governments around the world on the actions they need to take to save lives and it gives us clues to the extent that lockdown can be lifted.It is called the basic reproduction number or simply the R0 (pronounced R-nought).What is an R0?The reproduction number is a way of rating a disease's ability to spread.It's the number of people that one infected person will pass the virus onto, on average, assuming that nobody is immune and people don't change their behaviour to avoid getting ill.Measles has one of the highest numbers in town with a reproduction number of 15. It can cause explosive outbreaks. The new coronavirus, known officially as Sars-CoV-2, has a reproduction number of around 3, but e…