Rutland has reached a fresh low in its 7-day case rate making it half the England average.

England's smallest county recorded 4 cases today, which according to official government figures means the number of cases over the past week has fallen from 7 yesterday to 5 in the week until today.

Last Thursday the equivalent number was 10 and 21 the Thursday before that.

This means the 7-day case rate is now 12.5 per 100,000 residents.

As reported yesterday, this compares with peaks in high 400s earlier this year, when numbers spiked due to outbreaks at HMP Stocken.

The total number of cases is now 1653, which amounts to about one for every 25 residents.

The number of deaths remains at 61,with the last death from someone dying in Rutland with Covid-19 being just over 4 weeks ago.

This amounts to about one-in-700 residents, compared with the England average of one-in-500.

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, the general trend of declining case numbers in South Kesteven which has seen the district's case rate at its lowest in months has continued.

The past week has seen just 47 cases recorded according to official government figures, about a tenth of the peak earlier this year.

This gives the district a 7-day rate of 33 cases per 100,000, which compares with the England average of 23.8, which has avoided the fluctuations South Kesteven has experienced.

The district recorded 4 cases today, compared with 8 last Thursday, and 14 the Thursday before that.

Altogether, South Kesteven has recorded 7515 cases, about one for every 20 residents.

Again, no deaths were recorded today , with the last death being recorded last Tuesday, which was the first Covid-linked fatality in more than 3 weeks.

The total of 266 since the start of the pandemic means that around one-in-600 South Kesteven residents will have died withing 28 days of a positive test for the virus.

Overall, there have been 53 new coronavirus cases and no COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, down from 63 cases and one death this time last week.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 34 new cases in Lincolnshire, 12 in North Lincolnshire and seven in North East Lincolnshire.

On Thursday, no deaths were registered in North East Lincolnshire, -2 in Lincolnshire and -1 in North Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data can occur for a variety of reasons including corrected data, misdiagnoses or wrong addresses. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

NHS England has reported no new local hospital deaths on Thursday, the fourth day in a row this week.

National cases increased by 2,729 to 4,398,431, while deaths rose by 18 to 127,345.

In national news, MPs have accused the government of a "missed opportunity" in failing to give more detailed plans on how Britons might be able to enjoy foreign holidays this summer.

Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson's roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions, international travel won't be allowed any earlier than 17 May.

For some learner drivers the wait for a test is over as they resume in parts of the UK – but many have spoken about the difficulties in securing a test date.

Tests have been suspended due to COVID restrictions since January, but restart in England and Wales on Thursday.

Most centres are currently booked up until August, with a backlog of around 420,000 tests because of the pandemic.