The number of cases in South Kesteven this week has dropped almost by a third and the week has again passed without a death.

In the week to today, just 48 cases have been recorded in the district, compared with 67 in the week to last Friday.

The 7-day infection rate has dropped from 47 to 33.7 cases per 100,000, though it was a slight increase on yesterday.

This was despite a revision in how the numbers were calculated resulting in the total number of cases dropping from 7515 to 7514 since yesterday- about one in every 20 residents.

The figures is the lowest in months and about a tenth of the peak earlier this year.

The deaths tally remains at 266, as it has for more than 3 weeks. This amounts to about one-in-600 residents compared to the England average of one-in-500.

Overall, there have been 251 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and five COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 12% drop in cases and three fewer deaths than the previous week.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 26 new cases in Lincolnshire, 20 in North Lincolnshire and 10 in North East Lincolnshire.

On April 23, one death was registered in North Lincolnshire and -1 in Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county. Fluctuations in data can occur for a variety of reasons including corrected data, misdiagnoses or wrong addresses.

NHS England reported no hospitals this week so far, compared to two this time last week. On Friday, national cases increased by 2,678 to 4,401,109, while deaths rose by 40 to 127,385. In local news, there is no sign so far of the India COVID-19 mutation in Lincolnshire, but outbreaks continue to occur in the county, health bosses said. First detected in India in October, the India coronavirus variant is currently under investigation to decide whether it is one of concern and more dangerous than the strains in the UK currently – the Kent, Brazil and South Africa variants. "Don't panic" is the message from Lincolnshire health bosses over delays between COVID-19 vaccine doses, as it is thought efficacy of the jab could actually increase the longer the gap is. This comes as people in Mablethorpe have said they are in limbo over when they will get their second coronavirus jabs, despite waiting over the recommended time of three months. A care home in Grantham will close its designated COVID-19 unit as infection rates continue to drop. Apple Trees Care Home, run by The Orders of St John Care Trust, set up the unit last year as part of an initiative led by the Department of Health and Social Care. Greater Lincolnshire and England's average infection rates have seen a small fall since Wednesday but there have been rises across four of the lowest districts in our region. West Lindsey, East Lindsey, Lincoln City and North Kesteven are the four lowest districts in our region but have all seen an increase compared to the five highest seeing a decrease. Boston remains having the highest infection rate in Greater Lincolnshire and is in the top five nationally. England's R number has risen slightly to between 0.8 and 1, suggesting the pandemic is continuing to shrink but at a slower rate. This means for every 10 people with the virus, they will transmit it to between 8 and 10 others. Last week, rates were between 0.7 and 1. The coronavirus variant that first emerged in India is now being transmitted within the UK after three cases were detected that were not associated with travel. A total of 55 new infections with the COVID strain have been traced across the country, with India added to Britain's "red list" as of Friday morning. An MP has highlighted "widespread outrage" over the failure to prosecute anyone over a funeral allegedly attended by up to 150 mourners. The event took place at a church in Kettering, Northamptonshire, during the second lockdown in November. Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 23

59,257 cases (up 56)

41,225 in Lincolnshire (up 26)

9,381 in North Lincolnshire (up 20)

8,651 in North East Lincolnshire (up 10)

2,184 deaths (up one)

1,611 from Lincolnshire (down one)

305 from North Lincolnshire (up one)

268 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

of which 1,303 hospital deaths (no change)

811 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)

41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)

1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)

450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change) 4,401,109 UK cases, 127,385 deaths