There have been 434 new coronavirus cases and 12 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, as the county was told it will remain in tier 3 lockdown until at least December 31.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 324 new cases in Lincolnshire, 73 in North Lincolnshire and 37 in North East Lincolnshire.

Among the districts, South Kesteven increased 47 cases to 3049. Over the past week, the district has recorded 280 cases, giving it a weekly rate today of 196.6 per 100,000 of population. This means that in the past week, one in 500 of the district's population has reported or found to have Coronavirus.

The number of deaths increased by 1 to 101, since the pandemic started, less than one in a thousand of the entire South Kesteven population.

On Thursday, 10 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and two in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

NHS England reported eight new local hospital deaths on Thursday at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust.

On Thursday, national cases increased by 35,383 to 1,948,660, while deaths rose by 532 to 66,052.

Greater Lincolnshire will remain under the tier 3 toughest coronavirus restrictions in the latest announcement by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Council leaders have said they are disappointed but not surprised.

As term draws to a close, 21 Lincolnshire schools have made contact with the county council over the past seven days because of a pupil or staff member testing positive for COVID-19.

Two new mobile testing units will open in North East Lincolnshire. The sites situated in Immingham and Cleethorpes, will make it easier for people to get a test if they have COVID-19 symptoms.

Wednesday saw health secretary Matt Hancock announce the latest tier restrictions. 68% of England's population — 38 million people — will be in tier three from the weekend. Some 30% of the population will be in tier two, while just 2% will be in tier one.

In national news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the furlough scheme will be extended for another month, until the end of April. Currently under the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme, employees are placed on leave 80% of their pay. This pays up to £2,500 a month.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire for Thursday, December 17

32,435 cases (up 434)

21,260 in Lincolnshire (up 324)

5,487 in North Lincolnshire (up 73)

5,688 in North East Lincolnshire (up 37)

1,228 deaths (up 12)

842 from Lincolnshire (up 10)

198 from North Lincolnshire (no change)

188 from North East Lincolnshire (up 2)

of which 737 hospital deaths (up eight)

419 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up eight)

17 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)

1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)

300 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change) Altogether, the UK has seen 1,948,660 cases and 66,052 deaths.