Four Greater Lincolnshire authorities are now below the national average infection rate according to new government data.

As of Monday, December 14, South Holland and South Kesteven were Lincolnshire's only districts below the national average infection rate of 173.3 per 100,000 of the population.

Despite a slight increase, South Holland remains the lowest Lincolnshire district with 130.5, up from 118.9 on Friday.

This comes as the leader of South Holland District Council predicted his area will stay "unjustly" in tier 3 lockdown as the majority of infection rates in Lincolnshire remain above the national average.

However, South Kesteven's infection rate has dropped from 191 on Friday to 167.1 on Monday, placing it just below the national average.

The unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are also below the national average.

North Lincolnshire saw a decrease from Friday's rate of 175.3 to 164.3 on Monday. Similarly, North East Lincolnshire has decreased from 143.5 on December 11 to 122.8 on December 14 – putting it as the lowest infection rate authority in Greater Lincolnshire. However, in November, it saw more COVID-19 deaths than during the whole pandemic. Greater Lincolnshire's average infection rate has risen slightly from 232.3 on Friday to 237.7 on Monday, mirroring a national average increase from 156.5 to 173.3. On Monday, only three Lincolnshire districts saw an increase in infection rates: Lincoln, West Lindsey and South Holland. Lincoln saw a spike of over 80 to 488.4 per 100,000 of the population from 403.8. It has the 17th highest infection rate nationally. West Lindsey has been one of the districts that have fluctuated between infection rates. It now stands at 256.1, a jump of nearly 50 over the weekend. Boston's infection rate continues to decrease: 400.4 on Friday to 393.3 on Monday. This week, Greater Lincolnshire will be allocated new tiers. However, since North and North East Lincolnshire have lower rates of infection than the national average, they might be placed in a lower tier, different from Lincolnshire due to them being independent unitary authorities. At the time, the government based its decision on five key factors. Below is the current situation in each one according to health bosses: Case detection rates in all age groups – Lincolnshire's current seven day infection rate up to December 12 is 243.2 per 100,000. The England rate is 181 per 100,000. Case detection rates in the over 60s – Currently the rate for the over 60s in the county is 191.5 up to December 12, compared to 181 nationally. The rate at which cases are rising or falling – Mr McGinty said this was "patchy" across districts.

Government reports were focussed on the previously high Boston and East Lindsey having decreasing trends along with South Kesteven and West Lindsey. However, North Kesteven and South Holland were showing an increase overall, but a decrease in those over 60.

Positivity rate (positive cases as a percentage of tests taken) – Positivity rate for Lincolnshire is 9.7% with 21,441 tests carried out in the seven days to December 12 and 1,852 positive cases confirmed. Mr McGinty said this number had held steady for a period of time now.

Pressure on the NHS – "The hospital trust has got some significant pressures at the moment," said Mr McGinty, noting "serious" problems with maintaining staffing. He said it was "not in such a good position at the moment."