Due to a processing issue, the government's reported numbers later than usual on Thursday, with 321 new coronavirus cases and 17 COVID-related deaths across Greater Lincolnshire.

There were 262 new cases in Lincolnshire, 33 in North Lincolnshire and 26 in North East Lincolnshire.

Among the districts, South Kesteven recorded 54 cases, giving it a grand total of 5015 since the start of the pandemic. This means more than one-in-30 of residents have at one time succumbed to Covid-19.

The 7-day infection rate has falled to 357.4 cases per 100,000, a significant drop to the around 400 of earlier in the week.

The number of recorded deaths yesterday increased 4 to 156 since the start of the pandemic.

Overall, on Thursday, 11 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, three in North Lincolnshire and three in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

For the third day in a row, NHS England reported 12 new local hospital deaths on Thursday, including nine at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and three at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG).

On Thursday, national cases increased by 48,682 to 3,260,258, while deaths rose by 1,248 to 86,015.

As of January 13, 2,918,252 people have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccine and 437,977 the second dose.

Greater Lincolnshire vaccine data is currently unavailable, but in the Midlands, 36% of over 80s have been vaccinated.

Almost 40% of positive test samples in Greater Lincolnshire contained the more contagious variant of COVID-19 in the last week of 2020.

Lincolnshire County Council confirmed 36% of tests contained the mutated virus and North East Lincolnshire's latest epidemiology report showed 40% – working out to an average of 38%.

People in Boston are encouraged to get tested for COVID-19 even if they aren't displaying symptoms, as part of a new community testing programme.

It starts from Monday, January 18 and sees the council asking anyone aged 16 and over to get a coronavirus test.

In national news, travel to the UK from more than a dozen South American countries and Portugal has been banned due to fears over the Brazilian coronavirus variant.

The government's COVID-19 operations committee met to discuss the issue on Thursday, with the ban announced shortly afterwards.

Epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson told the BBC that in some NHS regions there is a "sign of plateauing" in cases and hospital admissions.

However, he warned the overall death toll would exceed 100,000.

Most people who have had COVID-19 are protected from catching it again for at least five months, a study led by Public Health England shows.

Past infection was linked to around an 83% lower risk of getting the virus, compared with those who had never had coronavirus, scientists found.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, January 14

43,086 cases (up 321)

29,736 in Lincolnshire (up 262)

6,568 in North East Lincolnshire (up 26)

1,634 deaths (up 17)

1,150 from Lincolnshire (up 11)

219 from North East Lincolnshire (up three)

of which 968 hospital deaths (up 12)

583 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up nine)

1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)