Research and analysis

SPI-M-O: Consensus statement on COVID-19, 4 November 2020

Consensus statement from the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational sub-group (SPI-M-O) for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

• From: Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
• Published: 13 November 2020
• Last updated: 27 November 2020 — See all updates

Documents

SPI-M-O: Consensus statement on COVID-19 - 4 November 2020

PDF, 1.06 MB, 14 pages

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Details

Consensus statement from SPI-M-O on COVID-19. It was considered at SAGE 66 on 5 November 2020.

The paper is the assessment of the evidence at the time of writing. As new evidence or data emerges, SAGE updates its advice accordingly.

This paper contains estimates of the reproduction number (R) and growth rate for the UK, 4 nations and NHS England (NHSE) regions.

Different modelling groups use different data sources to estimate these values using mathematical models that simulate the spread of infections. Some may even use all these sources of information to adjust their models to better reflect the real-world situation. There is uncertainty in all these data sources, which is why estimates can vary between different models, and why we do not rely on one model; evidence from several models is considered, discussed, combined, and the growth rate and R are then presented as ranges.

See latest R number and growth rates, and further background.

This paper also contains medium-term projections and scenarios. These are not forecasts or predictions, and cannot fully reflect changes in transmission that might have occurred over the past two to three weeks. They do not account for the impact of future policy or behavioural changes that might reduce transmission, nor seasonal effects that may affect transmission.

Find out more information on the medium-term projections.

These documents are released as pre-print publications that have provided the government with rapid evidence during an emergency. These documents have not been peer-reviewed and there is no restriction on authors submitting and publishing this evidence in peer-reviewed journals.

Published 13 November 2020
Last updated 27 November 2020 + show all updates

1. 27 November 2020

   Linked to medium term projections explainer document.

2. 13 November 2020

   First published.