The Covid-19 seven-day case rate in Rutland has dropped a little but it remains twice the national average.

Since the weekend, numbers have bounced back again following a renewed outbreak at HMP Stocken.

On Thursday, Rutland MP Alicia Kearns said the prison was responsible for 60 per cent of county cases, leaving community transmission below the national average, as reported by Nub News.

An earlier outbreak caused recorded cases to multiply and two weeks ago, the county's 7-day case rate exceeded 500 cases per 100,000 of population- around three times what it was before- and among the worst in the country.

Cases tumbled back to below what they were originally, but over last weekend they nearly doubled with almost 100 cases being recorded every seven days.

In the seven days to yesterday, Rutland recorded 97 cases, compared with 99 cases on Thursday, 96 on Wednesday, 95 on Tuesday, 96 on Monday and 98 on Sunday.

But last Thursday and Friday saw the county record 52 cases over 7 days- a quarter of the numbers two weeks ago.

Rutland now has a 7-day case rate of 242.9 cases per 100,000, double the England average of 117 cases per 100,000, which is maintaining a downward trend.

Yesterday, Rutland recorded 3 cases, compared with 7 each on Wednesday and Thursday, putting it on 1519 in total, equivalent to almost one-in-25 of the county's population since the pandemic started.

The number of deaths remained at 59 yesterday, an increase of 7 over the week. The 59 means about one-in-700 of the county's population will have died after testing positive with the virus.

In Lincolnshire, no deaths with Coronavirus were recorded in South Kesteven yesterday, the same as yesterday.

Official government figures also record ten cases in the district, compared with 27 on Thursday and 34 on Wednesday.

Last Friday, South Kesteven recorded one death and 34 cases.

It puts the district on 250 deaths in total, about one for each 600 residents.

The total number of recorded cases in South Kesteven now stands at 6787, about one-in-20 of the district's population.

The number of cases recorded over the past week increased from 184 in the week to Thursday to 188 in the week to yesterday.

This now gives the district a 7-day infection rate of 132 cases per 100,000 in the week to yesterday, compared to the England average of 117 cases per 100,000.

Overall, there have been 1,005 new coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and 26 COVID-related deaths so far this week — compared to 867 cases and 40 deaths this time last week.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 113 new cases in Lincolnshire, 20 in North Lincolnshire and 18 in North East Lincolnshire.

On Friday, four deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, two in North East Lincolnshire and -1 in North 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 Friday, national cases increased by 8,523 to 4,163,085, deaths rose by 345 to 122,415 while COVID first jab numbers hit over 19 million.

The England average has continued to fall over the past week.

In national news, the UK's coronavirus reproduction number – or R number – remains between 0.6 and 0.9 from last week, meaning for every 10 people infected, they will pass COVID on to between six and nine others.

Vaccinating people in order of age is the fastest way to cut COVID-19 deaths in the next phase of the roll-out, say experts advising the UK government.

People in their 40s will be next, once the current phase is completed, not key workers. Here's when you could get your coronavirus vaccine.

Some of the first people to check into quarantine hotels have had their first taste of freedom upon their release today after self-isolating for 11 nights.

From last Monday, UK and Irish nationals returning to England from a "red list" country deemed at high risk for COVID-19 have had to check into quarantine hotels.

The 15 areas of England to have vaccinated the lowest proportion of adults against COVID-19 are all in London.

In some boroughs, including Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham, just one in five adults have received a single dose of a vaccine, according to NHS England data up to 25 February.