South Kesteven is recording a sharp fall in Covid-19 cases, reflecting national trends.

The district today recorded 9 cases, the same as yesterday, but with the numbers being well-down on last week, the 7-day rate continues to fall significantly.

The district recorded 143 cases in the week to yesterday, compared with 158 in the week to Monday. This time last week, the figure was 187 cases per 100,000.

The 7-day case rate for South Kesteven is now 100.4 cases per 100,000, just above the England average of 97.1, which is also falling rapidly.

The district's 9 cases gives a grand total of 6831 since the start of the pandemic- about one in 20 of South Kesteven's population.

The number of recorded deaths today increased by two, giving a total of 255 since the start of the pandemic- about one-in-600 of South Kesteven's population.

Overall, the government's UK Covid-19 tracker recorded 97 new coronavirus cases and seven COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — down from 136 cases and eight deaths this time last week.

The dashboard recorded 69 new cases in Lincolnshire, 18 in North East Lincolnshire and 10 in North Lincolnshire.

On Tuesday, five deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and two in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

NHS England reported three new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and one at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.

On Tuesday, national cases increased by 6,391 to 4,188,400, while deaths rose by 343 to 123,296.

In local news, all Lincolnshire schools are preparing to reopen next week, with most primary school pupils returning on Monday and teachers and staff getting tested ahead.

Only children of key workers attended lessons in the latest national lockdown, some 25% of the total number of pupils in Lincolnshire. Now all students will begin to return to face-to-face education from March 8.

All Lincolnshire's COVID vaccine sites are continuing to offer people their jabs, officials say.

The reassurance comes after it was reported some people believed the major hubs were slowing down their operations.

The organisation which runs Lincolnshire's vaccination sites said due to demand and supply of the vaccine, not all its sites are open every day.

Lincolnshire has been bucking the trend and increasing in COVID-19 cases over the past couple of weeks, with infection rates in some areas now double the national average.

South Holland is number five in the UK, with a 208.4 infection rate — more than double England's 102.9 figure as a whole. It's believed outbreaks among field and factory workers are pushing the numbers up, along with extra testing.

Attached is Greater Lincolnshire's infection rate up to March 1 according to the government's dashboard.

In national news, the first assessment of the Brazilian variant of COVID-19, newly identified in the UK, shows it may spread more easily – and evade the immune system.

Scientists from Brazil and the UK estimate the variant, known as P1, is 1.4 to 2.2 times more transmissible than previous versions of coronavirus circulating in Manaus, the Amazon city where it originated.

So far, the hunt for an unidentified person who tested positive for the Brazil variant of coronavirus has narrowed to 379 households in southeast England, the health secretary has said.

Mr Hancock said in the House of Commons on Tuesday: "We must proceed with caution because although we're moving quickly, the virus moves quickly too."

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday, March 2

8,076 in North Lincolnshire (up 10)

299 from North Lincolnshire (no change)

41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)

424 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up one)

4,188,400 UK cases, 123,296 deaths