Rutland MP Alicia Kearns has responded to today's announcement that Rutland stays in Tier 2.

The government's review of the Tier status also means that Leicester, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire also stay in Tier 3. But nearby Peterborough moved up from Tier 2 to Tier 3.

Mrs Kearns posted on social media late this afternoon that as of December 17, the national average case rate stands at an average of 197.5 per 100,000. This means that about one in 500 will have been diagnosed with the virus.

In Rutland, the MP said cases in Rutland currently stand at 132.7 per 100,000. For those aged 60 and over, there are 62.9 cases per 100,000.

Nearby Melton, she continued had a rate of 216.8 per 100,000 and for those aged 60 and over, there are 282.1 cases per 100,000.

Mrs Kearns explained that for any area to move down or albeit up a tier, the following indicators are applied:

1. Case detection rates in all groups
2. Case detection rates in over 60s
3. The rate at which cases are rising or falling, using the previous week's figures
4. Positivity rate, the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests, and;
5. Pressure on the NHS, current and projected occupancy

She continued: "I know that this news may be disappointing, but with neighbouring Peterborough moving up to Tier 3, and our own increase in cases locally, not only in our towns but our villages too, it is vital we adhere to the strict guidelines for our relevant tiers.

"Hospitalisations across the region remain high and continue to increase, so we must do all we can to protect our NHS. Some of our hospitals are really struggling."

This evening, the government's UK Covid 19 tracker reported Rutland had seen 57 cases over the past week, giving the county a rate of 142.8 cases per 100,000, which is still around none case in 700 people over 7 days. The England average is now 206.6 cases per 100,000 or one in 500.

The number of deaths since the start of the pandemic is 23, which means that fewer than 1 in 2000 of the county's population have died of Covid-19 this year.

More detailed information and data can be found, searching for Rutland, Melton or Harborough under 'Area Name' at: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases