The 7-day infection rate for Covid-19 in Rutland has remained stable since the weekend after a slight pick-up following its lowest rate in months.

The county recorded three cases again yesterday, following on from three cases on Monday and three cases over the weekend.

This meant the county again recorded 16 cases over the past week, as it did in the week to Monday and the week to Sunday, which comes amid a backdrop of a massive increase in testing nationally, including of children returning to school.

This week, as previously reported by Nub News, a rapid testing service has been launched in Rutland.

The latest figures still show the county having a 7-day case rate of 40.1 cases per 100,000- well below the England average of 56.5, which has consistently declined.

The three cases recorded on Tuesday now gives Rutland a grand total of 1597 cases- equivalent to one case for every 25 residents since the start of the pandemic.

The total number of deaths in Rutland remained at 60- about one for every 700 residents. This is better than the England average of one for every 500 residents and has remained there for almost 3 weeks.

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, the 7-day case rate for South Kesteven is back on its way down.

The declining numbers come as the country also continues to report much reduced death numbers and fewer cases, despite a vast increase in testing.

In the week to Tuesday, South Kesteven recorded 114 cases, down from 121 in the week to Monday, giving a rate of 80 cases per 100,000.

With 20 cases recorded yesterday, South Kesteven now reports 7163 cases in total, about one for every 20 residents.

Again, no deaths were recorded today, with the last being recorded last Wednesday.

The total of 264 is equivalent to one for every 600 residents, which is better than the England average of one for every 500 residents.

Meanwhile, there have been 144 new coronavirus cases and four COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — compared to 129 cases and four deaths this time last week.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 92 new cases in Lincolnshire, 35 in North Lincolnshire and 17 in North East Lincolnshire.

On Tuesday, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, one in North Lincolnshire and -1 in North East Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

On Tuesday, national cases increased by 5,379 to 4,307,304, while deaths rose by 112 to 126,284. Over 28 million have now had the first dose of a COVID vaccine.

Tuesday, March 23 marks one year to the day that Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation to confirm we would go into a national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In national news, the period of "excess deaths" which has characterised the second wave of COVID-19 has now come to an end, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

For the first time since September, the number of people dying of all causes in England and Wales has dropped beneath the five-year average.

COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine passports and faked negative test papers are being sold on the darknet.

Prices range between $500 (£360) and $750 for doses of AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Sinopharm or Johnson & Johnson jabs.

The darknet, also known as the dark web, is a portion of the internet that is only accessible through specific browser tools.