The R number is in essence the driver of this pandemic. But like you say the published figure is at best a conservative estimate and at worst an educated guess.

The R number is in essence the driver of this pandemic. But like you say the published figure is at best a conservative estimate and at worst an educated guess. Imo the way it’s reduced down into this singular all-explaining number belittles the sheer scale of variables and complexities going on in the real world. But hey, explaining that would be too much like hard work for many tabloid outlets.