Grantham MP Gareth Davies has been briefed by a range of experts on the coronavirus crisis facing Lincolnshire and the county.

The MP yesterday held calls with the Minister of State, Ed Argar MP, Dr. Edeghere an expert NHS epidemiologist and Professor Steve Powis, as well as with John Turner, CEO of the Lincolnshire CCG.

Last night, Mr Davies issued on the local and national situation showing data and statistics he obtained from recent briefings. It said:

National Update

"As of yesterday 20 January 2021, 38,905 new people nationally had a confirmed positive test result and between 14 January 2021 and 20 January 2021, 294,182 people had a positive test. This thankfully, shows a decrease at national level of 21.5% compared with the previous 7-day period.

"For the period 7-13 January 2021, the weekly rate of infection in England was 520 per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 14.4% (i.e. of those who took a test, this % came back positive).

"As at the 18 January 2021, there were 39,068 patients in hospital with coronavirus. 3,947 of these patients required a mechanical ventilator to help them to breathe.

"Very sadly, as of yesterday 20 January 2021, there has been an increase of 14.8% in those dying from coronavirus.

"Over 4.6 million people across the UK have now had at least one dose of the vaccine, including over half of the over 80s and care home residents.

"We have vaccinated more people than in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Austria and Belgium combined. As a country we are opening up new vaccination sites every day as part of the Vaccination Delivery Plan to ensure every community is within 10 miles of a vaccination centre.

Lincolnshire

"We have a county-wide rate of 223 per 100,000, a 5% positivity rate and an over 60s rate which is better than the wider region. As at 17 January 2021, we have vaccinated 49,633 people. South Kesteven district has a rate of 296.3 per 100,000. You can access data for our district here.

"ULHT currently have 172 COVID positive patients in local hospital beds. The overall trend over the past weeks is that the numbers of hospital based COVID patients have fluctuated widely.

"We are currently seeing a 9% NHS staff absence rate, which is roughly 3-4% above the normal rate. In December it was 14% so it has come down, however at 9% that is still very high.

"After the first vaccination sites went live on 15 December 2020 in Grantham and Louth, there are now 13 vaccination sites up and running across our county.

"This has been a considerable team achievement across Lincolnshire – with great support from colleagues at the County Council and District Councils, the Voluntary Sector, Care Home Sector and many other partners.

"The full list of vaccination sites (in the order that they went live, and the go live dates) are:

Louth Community Hospital 15 December 2020

Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham 15 December 2020

St Mary's Medical Centre, Stamford 30 December 2020

Franklin Hall, Spilsby 07 January 2021

Portland Medical Practice, Lincoln 07 January 2021

Rustons Sports and Social Club, Lincoln 07 January 2021

Sidings Medical Practice, Boston 07 January 2021

Waddington Branch Surgery, South Lincoln 07 January 2021

Marisco Medical Practice, Mablethorpe 15 January 2021

Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln 15 January 2021

John Coupland Hospital, Gainsborough 16 January 2021

Springfields, Spalding 16 January 2021

The Storehouse, Skegness 16 January 2021

"The county now has our first large vaccination centre at the Princess Sports Arena (PRSA) in Boston. For those over the age of 80 who live within 45 minutes of the site, they will receive a letter giving them the option of going on a website or phoning up to secure their vaccination appointment.

"People (currently over 80s) who receive a letter inviting them to book their vaccination have a choice of going to Boston PRSA, or waiting for their local Primary Care Network to contact them. It is their individual choice.

"However, if people are able to book and travel to Boston PRSA they are encouraged to do so, as this will free up capacity at local vaccination sites for others.

"It is hoped that we can see the introduction of more roving services that will focus on patients such as the housebound or people specific health conditions.

"In terms of who gets the vaccine and when, the immediate priority groups, as determined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are – in this order of priority:

1. Residents in Care Homes for Older Adults and their carers
2. 80 year olds and above and frontline health and social care workers
3. 75 year olds and over
4. 70 year olds and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals

"The national target is to have completed all four of these priority groups by 15 February. The update continued: "Here in Lincolnshire, we have 207,000 people in these four categories, and we have over 83,000 people over the age of 70, 45,000 people over the age of 80 and 48,000 NHS, Care Home and Social Care staff. "There are several specific challenges in Lincolnshire such as the fact that we have a significantly higher number of Care Homes compared to the national average and a higher proportion of older people than the national average. Together with other Lincolnshire MPs I continue to monitor our progress at a local level on vaccinations and am in regular contact with local NHS leaders. "Over half of our county's Care Homes have been vaccinated, and just under half of our over 80s. Gareth is assured that NHS leaders locally have a plan to meet the national targets, despite the specific challenges Lincolnshire faces. Feedback from people receiving their vaccination has been extremely positive indeed. "We will continue to keep constituents informed as we progress through this crisis."