Rutland recorded 15 cases of Covid-19 yesterday, in what appears to be a downward trend of case numbers.

The figure is down slightly on the 16 recorded on Thursday and the same as the 15 on Wednesday.

England's smallest county has now recorded 961 cases since the start of the pandemic, equivalent to 2406.9 cases per 100,000. This means almost one-in-40 of Rutland's population has succumbed to the virus at some stage.

The figures give the county a 7-day rate 240.6 cases per 100,000, based on the 96 cases reported over the past week. This is equivalent to almost one-in-400 residents having picked up the virus over the past week.

The rates are well below the England average rate of 592.9 cases per 100,000. They are also significantly better than the 332.1 rate recorded in neighbouring South Kesteven in Lincolnshire.

Earlier in the week, the rates for Rutland were somewhat higher, with seven-day case numbers as high as 119 on Monday and Wednesday, with weekly-rates at 293 cases per 100,000.

No deaths of people dying with the virus were recorded yesterday and the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic remained on 27. The last death in the county was recorded on Tuesday.

On Friday, national cases increased by 55,761 to 3,316,019, while deaths rose by 1,280 to 87,295.

In national news on Friday, one of two coronavirus variants thought to have emerged in Brazil has been detected in the UK, says a leading scientist advising the government.

The variant is distinct from those which emerged in Kent, in the UK, and in South Africa, but shares some key mutations.

However, virologist Professor Wendy Barclay has clarified it is not the more infectious "variant of concern".

Researchers at Cambridge University estimate that up to 36% of Londoners may already have had the virus as the city passes its peak and R (infection rate number) falls.

The coronavirus R number in the UK has remained largely unchanged as SAGE estimated it is now between 1.2 and 1.3. This means for every 10 people who are infected with COVID-19, they will infect between 12 and 13 others.

Last week it was estimated that the R number was 1 to 1.4. The comes after research from the University of Cambridge suggested the R number in England was below 1 in some areas.

More locally, we have seen the ramping up of the vaccination programme.

Care homes have now innoculated their residents and people are expected to receive invitations to mass testing centres, in addition to more locally-based appointments.

The NHS stresses that people must not contact their GP surgeries about their appointments, but must wait to receive their invitiations, which are based on a ranking system of priority groups.