Just four Covid-19 cases were recorded in Rutland yesterday, helping the county's 7-day rate tumble.

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. But there remains no proven link between the prison and the Rutland community.

Yesterday's total of four recorded cases compares with 11 over the weekend and 17 cases on Friday, giving the county a grand total of 1400 cases This amounts to about one case per 30 residents.

Some 118 cases were recorded in the week to yesterday, compared with 162 cases in the 7 days to Sunday, 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.

The latest figures give a 7-day rate of 295.5 cases per 100,000, compared with 405.7 cases on Sunday and 465.9 on Friday, meaning about one-in-350 Rutlanders will have picked up the virus over the past week.

Last Wednesday, the 7-day rate was 518.4, among the worst in the country, but now it is just over half this.

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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 157.5 cases per 100,000, compared with 222.7 a week ago and 294.2 two weeks ago, showing the number of reported cases has almost halved within a fortnight.

The number of deaths in Rutland decreased by one to 50, according to the Covid-19 tracker, which can only be a statistical revision, more of which later. This amounts to around one per 800 residents since the pandemic started.

No deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in South Kesteven today, reflecting national trends which showed the national total was the lowest in months.

The figures from the government's Covid-19 tracker also reinforced a downward trend in cases, with the district recording 15 cases today.

This put the grand total on 6514- equivalent to around one-case- for every 20 South Kesteven resident.

Some 196 cases have now been reported in the district over the past week, giving a 7-day infection rate of 137.6 cases per 100,000, just over a third of the level two weeks ago.

South Kesteven recorded no deaths today. But there were 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.

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

Overall, there have been 160 new coronavirus cases and one COVID-related death in Greater Lincolnshire on Monday — a slight drop from this time last week that saw 199 cases and two deaths.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 114 new cases in Lincolnshire, 25 in North Lincolnshire and 21 in North East Lincolnshire.

One death was registered in Lincolnshire, -1 in North Lincolnshire and -2 in North East 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.

NHS England reported three new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and one at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals.

National cases increased by 9,765 to 4,047,843 (the first time under 10k since October), while deaths rose by 230 to 117,396. This comes as 15.3 million received their first COVID vaccine dose.

In national news, the first travellers required to stay at quarantine hotels have started arriving at Heathrow Airport amid new government travel measures announced last week.

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All British and Irish citizens and UK residents who arrive in England after being in a high-risk COVID country now have to self-isolate in hotels.

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

Boris Johnson said his plan for lifting England's coronavirus lockdown is for there to be "cautious but irreversible" progress in easing restrictions.

"We've got to be very prudent and what we want to see is progress that is cautious but irreversible," the prime minister said on his plan for easing COVID-19 measures.

People aged 65 to 69 in England are among those being invited to book their COVID-19 jab as the vaccination programme enters a new phase on Monday.

The clinically vulnerable are also being offered the jab as the vaccine rollout is officially expanded beyond the top four priority groups.

A third of social care staff in England have not had the COVID-19 vaccine, the health secretary has said, despite them being among the groups prioritised.

Matt Hancock said it was "very important" for the staff, patients and society that they get the jab.

People whose asthma is under control will not be prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine, the government has confirmed.

Sufferers of the condition will not be on the list ahead of their peers unless they are formally shielding, regularly take steroid tablets or have ever had an emergency hospital admission.