The 7-day Covid-19 infection rate in South Kesteven remains around half what it was last Friday and the Friday before.

Similarly, Greater Lincolnshire's figures have also dropped by nearly half.

The UK government Covid-19 tracker gives the district a weekly rate of 12.6 cases per 100,000 of population, based on 18 cases over the past week.

This is about half the 22.5 case rate recorded last Thursday and less than half the 24.6 recorded the week before.

The district recorded 7 cases today, giving a grand total of 7617 since the start of the pandemic, equivalent to just over one case per 20 residents. The national average is about one-in-15.

South Kesteven's 7-day infection rate is about half the England average of 21.2 cases per 100,000.

Whilst the figures fluctuate, the latest figures remain among the lowest since last year and less than a thirtieth of figures earlier in the year when the weekly rate exceeded 400 cases per 100,000.

The number of deaths has remained at 266 for more than 5 weeks now. This means that around one-in-600 residents have died within 28 days of a positive test since the pandemic started, which compares with an England average of one-in-500.

Overall, there has been a 40% decrease in COVID-19 cases so far this week, but one extra COVID-related death in Greater Lincolnshire compared to this time last week.

The latest figures show there have been 144 coronavirus cases so far this week and one death — compared to 238 cases and no deaths last week, however, a government data change on Tuesday meant 85 cases were removed from Greater Lincolnshire's total.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 28 new cases in Lincolnshire, 17 in North Lincolnshire and -1 in North East Lincolnshire, as data can fluctuate due to a wrong diagnosis.

NHS England has reported two local hospital deaths in United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust so far this week, up from none last week.

On Friday, national cases increased by 2,829 to 4,457,923, while deaths rose by nine to 127,710.

In local news, there is still a low occurrence of the India COVID mutation in Lincolnshire, with just 3% of cases containing variants of concern.

These include the Indian variant as well as the South African and Brazilian mutations, which are thought to be more contagious than the original strain, and can therefore spread faster in the population.

Greater Lincolnshire has seen further falls in its infection rate since Wednesday, mirroring the rate fall in England.

Boston, East Lindsey and South Kesteven are the only districts to have seen spikes, with North Lincolnshire remaining at its Wednesday level.

North Kesteven has halved its infection rate since Wednesday, with it now having just six per 100,000 of the population.

In national news, England's R number range has increased slightly from between 0.8-1.1 to between 0.9-1.1, the latest figures show, meaning for every 10 people infected, they will pass coronavirus onto between nine and 11 others.

The nationwide growth rate is estimated to be between -2% and +1 – a small increase on last week's -3% to 1%.

Just 15 people tested positive for coronavirus among nearly 60,000 who attended trials of mass gatherings including the FA Cup final and the Brit Awards, official figures show.

Nine large-scale events were staged as part of the government's plan to allow for the return of big crowds this summer.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, May 21

9,718 in North Lincolnshire (up 17)

307 from North Lincolnshire (no change)

41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)

451 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

4,457,923 UK cases, 127,710 deaths