There have been 165 new coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday and 13 COVID-related deaths.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 115 new cases in Lincolnshire, and 25 each in North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire.

Among the districts, South Kesteven, recorded 21 cases today, compared with 24 yesterday, 15 on Tuesday and 33 on Monday. This puts the district on 6,399 in total, equivalent to just over one-in-25 people in the district succumbing to the virus at some stage.

The 7-day rate has decreased from 240.1 cases per 100,000 on Friday to 201.5 cases per 100,000- a drop of about a fifth. The number of cases over the past week has fallen from 376 last week to 287 today.

This is reflected nationally, which has seen the England 7-day rate drop from 269.1 cases per 100,000 to 194.6 cases per 100,000 today.

However, South Kesteven recorded three deaths today, after three yesterday and six on Tuesday, putting the total on 228 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.

Altogether, about one-in-600 residents in the district have died after testing positive with the virus.

On Thursdayy, 11 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, one in North Lincolnshire and one 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 six new local hospital deaths, including four at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and two at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG).

On Thursday, national cases increased by 13,494 to 3,998,655, deaths rose by 678 to 114,851 while COVID first jab numbers hit 13,509,108.

In other news, weekly data released on Thursday shows 165,971 coronavirus jabs have taken place between December 8 and February 7 – up by 38,365 on the previous week.

However that figure is 1,841 fewer than the previous week's 40,206 recorded doses.

Thousands of NHS patients across the country that are suffering from COVID-19 will now have access to new life-saving treatment.

The government has announced the rollout of an anti-inflammatory drug called tocilizumab, which is used for treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said it is still "too early" to know whether summer holidays can go ahead.

He added there was still "a lot of uncertainty" but ministers were doing everything possible.

Mr Hancock also outlined plans for NHS reform which will see health and care services can work more closely together.

The proposals will follow the NHS long-term plan and Mr Hancock told MPs the pandemic had made them more urgent.

However, opponents have questioned the timing of the move.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, February 11

7,655 in North Lincolnshire (up 25)

293 from North Lincolnshire (up 1)

37 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)

406 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up two)

3,998,655 UK cases, 114,851 deaths

DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.