The timing of the ending of lockdown depended crucially on the value of ‘ R ‘ (the reproductive rate of the virus) remaining below unity. This arithmetical concept which purported to capture and encapsulate all the known mathematical facts of the virus into a single number had been propelled by the ‘the science’ to celebrity status. As such it appeared centre stage ad nauseum in every daily broadcast:

                                                          As seen in The Spectator.