Rutland recorded 12 cases of Covid-19 yesterday- twice the amount of the previous day- but no deaths were recorded.

However, due to higher numbers being recorded last week, the 7-day case rate has fallen from 200.4 cases per 100,000 to 185.3 cases per 100,000.

This means that fewer than one-in-500 Rutland residents have succumbed to the virus over the past week.

In the week to yesterday, Rutland recorded 74 cases, compared with 80 in the week to Wednesday and 79 in the week to Tuesday.

The total number of cases has now increased from 1086 to 1089, which is a rate of 2750 cases per 100,000, meaning just over one in 40 of Rutlanders will have caught the virus at some stage.

The deaths tally yesterday remained at 39, following an increase of two on Wednesday, meaning fewer than one-in-a-thousand Rutlanders will have died with Covid-19 at some stage,

In Greater Lincolnshire yesterday, there were 292 new coronavirus cases and seven COVID-related deaths recorded- the fourth day in a row this week with under 300 cases.

There were 238 new cases in Lincolnshire, 33 in North Lincolnshire and 21 in North East Lincolnshire.

Among the districts, South Kesteven recorded 65 on Thursday, the highest daily total this week, giving a grand total of 5,866 since the start of the pandemic.

This is equivalent to 4118.7 cases per 100,000 of population, meaning about one-in-25 of the district's population will have succumbed to the virus at some stage during the pandemic.

The 7-day rate however has dropped to 292.8 cases per 100,000 as the number of weekly cases dropped to 417. Over the past week or so, it has hovered around the 400 mark, with a rate around 300.

This is well below the England rate of 373.2 cases per 100,000.

The number of deaths increased 3 to 191 compared with an increase of 6 yesterday and Friday on Tuesday. This gives a rate 134.1 per 100,000, meaning around one-in-800 of the district's population died with Covid-19.

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

On Thursday, national cases increased by 28,680 to 3,743,734, while deaths rose by 1,239 to 103,126.

Meanwhile, in national news, a senior EU official suggested coronavirus vaccines produced in the UK should be shared with the bloc, as its supply comes under pressure.

Brussels's health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said given AstraZeneca is blaming production problems at factories in Europe on the shortfall in jabs delivered, the pharmaceutical giant's plants in Britain should be used instead.

Scientists behind a study tracking coronavirus in England say there are signs of a "shallow decline" in infection levels but they remain high.

With not all regions seeing the same downward trend, pressure on health services is likely to continue.