There have been 449 new coronavirus cases and 14 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday.

Cases in the county have now surpassed the milestone of 30,000 since the start of the pandemic.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 381 new cases in Lincolnshire, 42 in North Lincolnshire and 26 in North East Lincolnshire.

On Thursday, 10 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, two in North 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 nine new local hospital deaths, including five at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust and four at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.

On Thursday, national cases increased by 20,964 to 1,787,783, while deaths rose by 516 to 63,082.

Nearly a third of patients in Lincolnshire's hospitals acquired coronavirus while being treated, new data has revealed. At United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, out of 762 coronavirus cases being treated, 225 of them were caught while in hospitals – 29.5% of patients.

Council staff across Greater Lincolnshire have been given a Christmas holiday present after the pressures they had to face during the COVID-19 pandemic. They've been awarded with an extra day off.

Some 11 schools in Lincolnshire have recorded COVID-19 positive cases in the last seven days, leaving the infection rate for school age children at 155 cases per 100,000 of the population.

Andy Fox, consultant in public health, said: "All schools are taking action to limit the potential spread of the virus, with some pupils and staff self-isolating as a precaution where necessary.

"The majority of schools remain fully open, and those affected are working really well to limit both the risk of the virus spreading and the impact on the pupils' education."

In national news, Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, said easing lockdown measures now there is a vaccine would be "absolutely the wrong thing to do".

The London region now has the highest average infection rate in the country — 191.2 per 100,000 of the population — according to Public Health England's weekly surveillance survey and risks going into tier 3 on December 16.

The East Midlands (including Greater Lincolnshire) is second with an average of 163.6.

As of December 10, Boston has dropped from 12th to 17th highest infection rate in England (393.3), followed by Lincoln City in 18th place (391.7).

30,004 cases (up 449)

19,324 in Lincolnshire (up 381)

5,502 in North East Lincolnshire (up 26)

1,094 deaths (up 14)

731 from Lincolnshire (up 10)

176 from North East Lincolnshire (up two)

of which 662 hospital deaths (up nine)

359 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up five)

1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)