Rutland continues its long run of recording no deaths linked to Covid-19.

The county has now gone 16 days without anyone dying within 28 days of a positive test for the virus.

Due to a revision in how the numbers of cases are calculated, the number of cases recorded to date in the county dropped 8 to 1633. This amounts to about one for every 25 residents.

The case rate has fallen to 42.6 cases per 100,000, based on the 17 cases recorded over the past week. This compares with the England average of 31.9 cases per 100,000.

The numbers of deaths again remained at 61, which is equivalent to about one for every 700 residents. This compares to an England average of about one-in-500.

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, South Kesteven has now gone more than three weeks without a death linked to Covid-19.

Official government figures yesterday (Friday) confirmed the number remained at 265 fatalities with Covid since the start of the pandemic.

The total means that around one-in-600 South Kesteven residents will have died withing 28 days of a positive test for the virus.

This is better than the England average of one-in-500 residents.

Friday's numbers also reinforced this week's fall in the seven day infection rate, helped by a change in how the figures are calculated.

They delivered a drop of 13 in the case total for South Kesteven, which helped reduce the number of cases recorded over a week to 83.

This compares with 101 in the week to Thursday and 158 in the week to last Friday.

It seems clear a recent spike has now ended, with the district following national trends in reporting fewer cases.

From a low of 80 about three weeks ago, the number of cases recorded over a week rose to a peak of 158 in the week to last Friday.

South Kesteven now has a 7-day case rate of 58.3 cases per 100,000, but it remains almost double the England average of 31.9, which has been consistent in its decline.

Friday's figure of -14 compares with 14 on Thursday and 13 last Friday.

This gives a grand total of 7430- about one for every 20 residents.

Overall, there have been 308 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and nine COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 46% drop in cases and 25% reduction in deaths from the previous week.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded nine new cases in North Lincolnshire but -69 cases in Lincolnshire and -4 in North East Lincolnshire.

As above, this is due to the dashboard changing the way it reports cases.

On April 9, four deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, two 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 Friday, national cases increased by 3,150 to 4,365,461, while deaths rose by 60 to 127,040.

Nationally, Europe's drugs regulator is reviewing possible links between blood clots and Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine.

The move comes after four serious cases of rare clots with low platelets were reported after the COVID-19 jab, one of which was fatal, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).