mike current
That question was raised this morning. The government, and I agree to reinforce the narrative, used that good old marketing ploy "up to", the new strain is "up to 70% more infectious". That means that it could be 10%, but it is not more than 70%. Further research is ongoing to establish just how more infectious it actually is, and my suspicion is that the increased infections in Kent and Essex have as much to do with Lakeside and Blue Water and Christmas shopping as they may do regarding increased levels of infectionness.