Just 11 Covid-19 cases were recorded in Rutland over the weekend, reinforcing its downward trend.

Earlier this month, the county's infection rate multiplied, following an outbreak at HMP Stocken.

As Nub News previously reported, the prison was understood to be responsible for about half the cases in the county.

As also reported earlier today, no proven link has been found yet between the prison and the Rutland community.

The Valentine weekend's 11 cases compare with 17 on Friday and give the county a grand total of 1396 cases This amounts to about one case per 30 residents.

Some 162 cases were recorded in the 7 days to yesterday (Sun) compared with 186 cases in the week to Friday, 194 in the 7 days to Thursday, 207 in the week to Wednesday. This contrasts with last Wednesday's 7 day rate of 68, 80 cases in the week to last Thursday and 92 in the week to last Friday.

This gives a 7-day rate of 405.7 cases per 100,000, compared with 465.9 on Friday, meaning about one-in-250 Rutlanders will have picked up the virus over the past week.

On Wednesday, the 7-day rate was 518.4, among the worst in the country.

Rutland's prison-related spike in numbers contrasts with virtually everywhere else in the UK, which is reporting a sharp decrease in new case numbers.

The England 7-day rate is now 167.5 cases per 100,000, compared with 233.2 a week ago and 309.5 two weeks ago, showing the number of reported cases has almost halved within a fortnight.

Rutland recorded no deaths over the weekend, the UK Covid-19 tracker also revealed.

However, four deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in South Kesteven over the weekend but the infection rate is dropping sharply, with it also almost halving over a fortnight.

The district recorded 49 cases on Saturday and Sunday, giving a grand total of 6499 since the start of the pandemic, meaning one case for about 20 residents since the pandemic started.

South Kesteven recorded 211 cases in the week to Sunday, compared with 260 in the week to Friday. A week ago the equivalent number was 342 and 397 the weekend before.

This means that the 7-day infection rate has dropped from 287.7 cases per 100,000 two weeks ago, to 240.1 last weekend, to 182.6 on Friday and 148.1 yesterday.

This is reflected nationally, which has seen the England 7-day rate drop from 309.5 two weeks ago, to 233.2 cases last weekend, 188.3 on Friday and 167.5 on Sunday.

South Kesteven recorded four deaths over the weekend, after two on Friday, three on Thursday, three on Wednesday and six on Tuesday, putting the total on 237 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.

Altogether, about one-in-600 residents in the district have died after testing positive with the virus.

Across Greater Lincolnshire, there were 386 new coronavirus cases and 13 COVID-related deaths recorded over Valentine's weekend, as infection rates dropped across our region.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 294 new cases in Lincolnshire across Saturday and Sunday, 51 in North East Lincolnshire and 41 in North Lincolnshire.

By the end of Sunday, nine deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, three in North Lincolnshire and one in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

The weekend saw national cases increase to 4,038,078 – surpassing the four million mark – while deaths rose to 117,166.

Over the weekend, more than 15 million people in the UK have now had their first coronavirus vaccine, in what Boris Johnson described as a "significant milestone".

The PM hailed the "extraordinary feat" reached just over two months after the first jab was given on December 8.

From Monday, all British and Irish citizens and UK residents who arrive in England after being in a high-risk COVID country now have to quarantine in hotels.

The "red list" of 33 countries includes Portugal, Brazil and South Africa.

The new regulations, which aim to stop COVID variants entering the country, apply to arrivals who have been in one of those places in the past 10 days.