South Kesteven has again reported fewer Covid-19 cases, but it remains runner-up in a list of Lincolnshire hot spots.

Official government figures today recorded 199 new coronavirus cases and two COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Monday — a drop from this time last week that saw 213 cases and six deaths.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 153 new cases in Lincolnshire, 31 in North Lincolnshire and 15 in North East Lincolnshire.

Among the district, South Kesteven, recorded 33 cases today, compared with 81 over the weekend, which puts it on 6,360 in total, equivalent to just over one-in-25 people in the district succumbing to the virus at some stage.

The 7-day rate has decreased from 240.1 cases per 100,000 on Friday to 231 cases per 100,000. The number of cases over the past week has fallen from 365 on Friday to 329.

A week ago, the equivalent number was 388. This compares with an England 7-day rate of 222.7, which maintains a strong downward trend.

South Kesteven did not report any deaths today, which keeps the district on 219 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.

Some two deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and none in Northern Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

National cases increased by 14,104 to 3,959,784, while deaths rose by 333 to 112,798.

In local news, Greater Lincolnshire has seen no new reported deaths in any of its hospitals for the first time in more than three months.

According to the latest NHS data, no new deaths were reported on Monday, the first time across all trusts in Lincolnshire along with North and North East Lincolnshire since October 24.

The coronavirus vaccination hub at Lincoln County Hospital has been temporarily paused due to good progress being made at the site.

The hub has been used solely to immunise NHS staff and other healthcare workers with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

South Holland's council leader is unsure of what has caused the district's high infection rate and ranking in the UK, but has a "number of possibilities".

Cllr Lord Gary Porter has offered some explanation into the potential causes, such as a high manual workforce in food production in the district, high school attendance, greater testing capacity and large care home outbreaks.

Greater Lincolnshire has seen another steady fall on Monday with four districts seeing a small spike in infection rates.

In national news, there are over 140 confirmed cases of the South African coronavirus variant in the UK – but there are fears it could be higher, a minister has said.

Health minister Edward Argar said there have been 147 confirmed cases of the South African coronavirus variant but acknowledged his figures may be "a day or so out".

The government is "very concerned" about low uptake of the coronavirus jab among black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, the vaccines minister has told Sky News.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was "very high", with data from the Office for National Statistics showing 85% of adults were very likely to take up the offer of a jab.

Boris Johnson says he is "very confident" in the coronavirus vaccines being used in the UK amid concerns about the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab's effectiveness against the South African variant.

The vaccines were effective in delivering a high degree of protection against serious illness, the PM said.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Monday, February 8

7,585 in North Lincolnshire (up 31)

290 from North Lincolnshire (no change)

37 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)

397  in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

3,959,784 UK cases, 112,798 deaths