Rutland has again recorded just no cases of Covid-19 today and again no deaths.

This compares with three cases last Wednesday, when the last death was recorded, and two cases and no deaths the Wednesday prior to that.

The grand total number of cases since the pandemic is 1669- about one in 25 of Rutland's population.

However, due to how the figures are calculated and revised, the district has now recorded 11 cases in the week to today and 8 in the week to yesterday, and 11 in the week to last Wednesday.

The 7-day infection rate is 27.6 cases per 100,000, the same as last Wednesday. It is slightly higher than the England average of 22.6.

This is well down on the peak earlier this year, which reached into the 400s for cases per 100,000 of population.

The number of deaths remains at 62, which amounts to about one fatality in 700 residents, which compares to the England average of one-in-500. The last death was recorded last Wednesday, the only death with Covid-19 during April

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, South Kesteven has recorded just one Covid-19 case today, with the district also going more than three weeks without a Covid-related death.

The single case compares with 5 last Wednesday and three the Wednesday before.

Overall 34 cases have been reported in the past week, which compares with 23 in the week to last Wednesday, 50 in the week before that and 72 in the week prior to that.

This gives South Kesteven a 7-day infection rate of 23 cases per 100,000, which is just above the England average of 22.6.

This is an increase on the 13.3 cases per 100,000 recorded on Friday, and also on the 16.1 cases per 100,000 recorded last Wednesday.

However, the latest figures remain among the lowest since last year and around a twentieth of figures earlier in the year when the weekly rate exceeded 400 cases per 100,000.

Overall, South Kesteven has seen 7567 recorded cases since the start of the pandemic- which is about one for every 20 residents.

The number of deaths has remained at 266 for just over 3 weeks. This means that around one-in-600 residents have died within 28 days of a positive test since the pandemic started, which compares with an England average of one-in-500.

Overall, today Greater Lincolnshire saw 49 new coronavirus cases and one COVID-related death - down from 56 cases and two deaths this time last week.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 25 cases in North Lincolnshire, 24 in Lincolnshire, but none in North East Lincolnshire.

On Wednesday, one death was registered in Lincolnshire and none in Northern 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 2,144 to 4,425,940, while deaths rose by 27 to 127,570.

Since Monday, Greater Lincolnshire's infection rate has seen a slight increase, whereas the England average rate still continues to fall.

North Lincolnshire and North Kesteven are the only districts to see a fall in their infections, with East Lindsey and Lincoln reaming the same as their Monday figures.

The other Greater Lincolnshire districts have seen increases in their rates. North Lincolnshire still tops the region and is ranked fifth nationally in its infection rate.

In national news, the Chief Medical Officer has been signalling since the start of the year that booster doses are likely to be given to the vulnerable in the autumn. Here's all the information so far.

Laboratories to test current and new COVID-19 vaccines against variants of concern are to be built at Porton Down in Wiltshire the government has announced.

A total of £29.3m will go towards building the "state-of-the-art" laboratories at Public Health England's new testing facilities at the Ministry of Defence's top-secret complex in Wiltshire.

Extra funding to fast-track new vaccines will help "future-proof" the UK against new coronavirus variants, the vaccines minister has said.

Existing vaccines protect against variants such as the one found in Kent, but experts say the UK needs to be prepared as the virus keeps mutating.