The 7-day case rate for South Kesteven has increased again, but the district's rate is still below a third the national average.

And it is still more than a month since South Kesteven recorded a single death with Covid-19.

South Kesteven recorded 29 cases today, compared with 27 cases yesterday, 14 on Tuesday, 10 on Monday, and 27 over the weekend.

Last Thursday saw 7 people tested positive, the same as the Thursday before.

Overall, some 74 cases have been recorded over the past week compared to 71 in the week to yesterday, 69 in the week to Tuesday and 55 in the week to Monday.

This gives South Kesteven a 7-day case rate of 52 cases per 100,000, which is less than a third of the England average of 160.2. The England average 7-day rate has steadily risen in recent weeks, while the South Kesteven figure has tended to fluctuate at a much reduced level.

No deaths were recorded and the number since the start of the pandemic remains at 270. The last fatality in the district was over a month ago, with two fatalities in just over two months.

Overall, there were 358 new cases of coronavirus confirmed across Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday as the Prime Minister keeps his hopes high for staying on the latest unlocking schedule.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Thursday reported 174 new cases in Lincolnshire, 127 in North East Lincolnshire and 57 in North Lincolnshire. The total is 102% higher than last Thursday, which saw 177 cases confirmed.

The figures showed one further deaths of a North East Lincolnshire resident in the government's data. However, NHS England today reported no new deaths in facilities across Greater Lincolnshire.

Nationally, cases increased by 27,989 to 4,828,463 while deaths rose by 22 to 128,162.

A new interactive map shows the areas in Lincolnshire with the highest and lowest doses of COVID vaccinations, as the latest figures show 85% of Lincolnshire adults have now had their first jab.

The latest vaccination data released on Thursday shows that there have been 961,565 cumulative doses of the coronavirus vaccine in Lincolnshire between December 8 and June 27.

This is a rise of 27,815 from last week —  5,834 fewer than the 33,649 jabs given in the previous week.

The new vaccination rates map includes a split-screen slider which shows both first and second dose percentages.

Lincoln student and sports bar 'Towers' is now insisting that anyone visiting for any upcoming England matches during Euro 2020 will need to provide proof of a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours before the event, or of having both doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

Entry will be refused to anyone who cannot provide proof of this on the night, as England prepare for their next match – a quarter-final clash against Ukraine at 8pm on Saturday, July 3.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has on Thursday reiterated that he is hoping England will return "back to a world that is as close to the status quo, ante-COVID, as possible".

Speaking during a visit to a new Nissan plant in Sunderland, however, he added: "There may be some things we have to do, extra precautions that we have to take, but I'll be setting them out."

He asked parents to be patient as calls for more information around school bubbles grow, with Public Health England still carrying out investigations into whether isolation could be replaced with daily testing.

"I understand people's frustration when whole classes, whole bubbles, are sent home and people are asked to isolate," he said.

Meanwhile, iNews has been reporting that British teens are using TikTok to share methods of faking positive COVID-19 tests.

The videos show youngsters applying various liquids to the tests.

If pupils test positive entire bubbles can be forced to miss out on school and education leaders have called the practice "massively unhelpful".

"We are sure this involves a very small minority of pupils, and that for the most part the tests are used correctly," Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said,

"However, we would urge parents to ensure that tests are not being misused, and we would suggest to pupils who are interested in chemical reactions that the best place to learn about them is in chemistry lessons in school." Elsewhere, the World Health Organisation has warned of a new wave of coronavirus in Europe, and called on host cities to better monitor Euro 2020 fans. Experts are also calling for the list of symptoms associated with COVID to be expanded with the most commonly reported now being cough, headache and fatigue. Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, July 1

64,142 cases (up 358)

43,843 in Lincolnshire (up 174)

10,108 in North Lincolnshire (up 57)

10,191 in North East Lincolnshire (up 127)

2,196 deaths (up one)

1,622 from Lincolnshire (no change)

302 from North Lincolnshire (no change)

272 from North East Lincolnshire (up one)

of which 1,314 hospital deaths (no change)

816 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)

43 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)

1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)

454 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change) 4,828,463 UK cases, 128,162 deaths