South Kesteven has recorded its third Covid-19 linked fatality in a fortnight.

The death, recorded over the weekend, is the third since the weekend of July 31-August 1.

It means since the pandemic started, official government figures record 273 fatalities within 28 days of a positive test for Covid-19.

The total amounts to 190.6 deaths per 100,000, which is equivalent to one fatality for just over 500 residents. The England average is one death for just under 500 residents.

The previous deaths were on Tuesday August 3, the weekend of July 31-August 1, May 5 and March 25, giving five deaths in almost 5 months.

This weekend saw 132 cases recorded in South Kesteven, which compares with 138 last weekend and 103 the weekend before.

The 7-day case rate has increased further from 317.9 cases per 100,000 on Friday to 329.6 yesterday. This compares with 259.7 cases per 100,000 last Sunday and 207.8 the Sunday before.

This compares with an England average of 306.1 cases per 100,000 of population, which has also grown in recent weeks.

Overall, since the pandemic started, the district has recorded 10,285 positive tests - about one case for each 14 residents. Again, this is better than the England average, which is almost one case for every ten people.

The figures come amid much testing, currently running around 810,000 a day or 5.3 million over a week.

Across Lincolnshire, 726 cases were recorded over the weekend, compared with 794 last weekend, 373 on Friday and 427 on Thursday.

This gives a grand total of 58,803 cases since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 2,557 over the past week.

The 7-day case rate is now 353.1 cases per 100,000, which compares with 358.7 cases per 100,000 on Friday, which is higher than the England and South Kesteven averages.

The number of recorded deaths increased 4 to 1647, after an increase of 3 on Friday and four on Thursday.

Nationally, 61 deaths were recorded yesterday, compared with 100 on Friday, giving a total over the week of 635, an increase of 34 or 5.7 per cent over the week before.

The total number of UK deaths now stands at 130,953.

Yesterday, 26,750 cases were recorded, giving a total of 200,327 over the week, an increase of 9,308 or 4.9 per cent over the week before.

The number of hospital admissions is recorded as 880, compared with 737 on Thursday, amounting to 5470, an increase of 106 or 2 per cent over the past week.