Rutland recorded 18 cases of Covid-19 yesterday and one death on Wednesday.

The sharp increase from 8 on Tuesday also helped increase the 7-day case rate, which fluctuates, though is on a downward trend.

This stood at 170.3 cases per 100,000 yesterday, is an increase from 162.8 on Tuesday and a decrease on the 177.8 cases per 100,000 on Monday.

The week to yesterday saw 68 cases recorded in Rutland, compared with 65 yesterday and 71 on Monday. The number of cases per week being in the 70s for much of last week, peaking at 80.

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

Rutland's seven day rate is well below the England average rate of 269.1 cases 100,000, which is falling relatively rapidly.

The total number of cases has now increased to 1186 , which is a rate of 2970.4 cases per 100,000, which means about one-in-35 Rutlanders have been recorded at having caught the virus at some stage during the pandemic.

The deaths tally increased one to 44 yesterday after rising by one over the weekend, and one again on Tuesday, meaning around one-in-a-thousand Rutlanders will have died with Covid-19 at some stage.

Meanwhile, nearby South Kesteven has recorded four deaths on Wednesday, the same as Tuesday.

Overall, there have been 299 new coronavirus cases and 19 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Wednesday — up from 13 deaths on Tuesday and six the day before.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 230 new cases in Lincolnshire, 36 in North East Lincolnshire and 33 in North Lincolnshire. Cases have now surpassed 7,000 in North East Lincolnshire.

South Kesteven reported 39 cases, putting it on 6151 since the start of the pandemic. This means about one person in 25 in the district have a recorded case since the start of the pandemic.

The district is experiencing a downward trend with it 376 cases over the past week, giving a rate of 264 cases per 100,000. This is a decrease from 278.7 recorded over the weekend.

The number of deaths in South Kesteven increased by four on Wednesday to 208, following an increase of four on Tuesday. This means about on-in-70,000 will have died with Covid-19 since the pandemic started.

On Wednesday, 15 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, three in North East 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 Wednesday, national cases increased by 19,202 to 3,871,825, while deaths rose by 1,322 to 109,335.

Ten million people in the UK have now had their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

"This is a hugely significant milestone in our national effort against this virus. Every jab makes us all a bit safer – I want to thank everyone playing their part," Mr Hancock said.

Nearly 500,000 people have had a second jab, according to government data up to the 1 February.