Coronavirus crisis: Greater Lincolnshire death toll now tops 300

There have now been more than 300 official coronavirus-related deaths across the Greater Lincolnshire region.

The latest official figures from government and the Lincolnshire County Council's public health departments add up to at least 303 deaths – though these do not include care home deaths from North or North East Lincolnshire.

The figures break down as:

• 130 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
• 3 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
• 100 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up from 97)
• 69 in Lincolnshire County Council-managed care homes (up from 62)

The latest case numbers are due to be released later today, however, currently sit around the 1,730 level across all three authority-areas. Lincolnshire Resilience Forum deputy chairman Mark Baxter revealed earlier today that the R-rate for infection in Lincolnshire currently sits between 0.7-1. He said it was at the lower end of the scale and below the national level. As long as R remains below one, it indicates the virus is in decline. Nationally, the number of reported deaths today increased by 412 to 37,460 across the UK. The number of confirmed cases increased in the UK by 2,013 to 267,240. In the region, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus continues to drift slowly upwards, with some districts reporting few or no new cases for some time. Lincolnshire now has 1087 confirmed cases, compared with 1063 last Thursday, when Nub News last reported them the following day. This gives the county a rate of 143.8 cases per 100,000 people, which is just over half the 269.6 cases per 100,000 average for England. Rutland now has 34 confirmed cases, an increase of one since last Thursday, giving it a rate of 85.6 per 100,000, the fourth best rate of all the districts in the country. South Kesteven now has 162 cases (114.2) an increase of six since last Thursday. South Holland now has 221 cases (235.2) an increase of eight since last Thursday. Peterborough now sits on 414 (207.9) an increase of 30 since last Thursday. Melton now sits on 70 (137.0) an increase of five since last Thursday. North Kesteven remains at 131 (112.9), not reporting any increases since last Thursday. Additional reporting by Nub News.