Rutland recorded 15 cases of Covid-19 yesterday- three more than on Thursday- and two deaths were recorded.

However, due to higher numbers being recorded last week, the 7-day case rate has again fallen from 185.3 cases per 100,000 to 177.8 cases per 100,000.

This means that fewer than one-in-500 Rutland residents have succumbed to the virus over the past week.

In the week to yesterday, Rutland recorded 71 cases, compared with 74 in the week to Thursday, 80 in the week to Wednesday and 79 in the week to Tuesday.

Rutland's seven day rate is about half the England average rate of 354.2 cases per 100,000.

The total number of cases has now increased from 1098 to 1113, which is a rate of 2787 cases per 100,000, meaning just over one in 40 of Rutlanders will have caught the virus at some stage.

The deaths tally yesterday increased two to 41, following an increase of two on Wednesday, meaning around one-in-a-thousand Rutlanders will have died with Covid-19 at some stage,

Nearby South Kesteven recorded six deaths on Friday, meaning 197 have officially died in the district since the start of the pandemic.

The total amounts to 138.3 deaths per 100,000 of population as well as 20 since since the weekend.

However, the number of cases in the district maintains a downward trend.

Some 47 cases were recorded yesterday, putting the district on 5913 cases since the start of the pandemic.

This is equivalent to about one-in-25 cases per 100,000 of the county's population.

The 7-day case rate maintained a downward trend, falling from 292.8 cases per 100,000 to 297.4 cases per 100,000, as the number of weekly cases dropped from 417 to 398. Earlier in the week, the weekly numbers were as high as 435.

Overall, there have been 1,384 new coronavirus cases and 68 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire this week – compared to 1,643 cases and 83 deaths last week.

Rutland has seen about eight deaths this week.

Some 338 new cases and 19 deaths were reported in Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, the first time this week with more than 300 cases in a day.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 267 new cases in Lincolnshire, 43 in North Lincolnshire and 28 in North East Lincolnshire.

On Friday, 17 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and two in North Lincolnshire. 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 29,079 to 3,772,813, while deaths rose by 1,245 to 104,371.

In national news yesterday, a new coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be 89.3% effective in large-scale UK trials.

The Novavax jab is the first to show in trials that it is effective against the new virus variant found in the UK, the BBC's medical editor Fergus Walsh said.

A single-shot vaccine developed by the healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson is 85% effective in preventing the most serious coronavirus symptoms, according to data from mass trials.

The company said its latest tests – carried out in several countries – also showed it was 66% effective overall at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, 28 days after vaccination.

As of January 28, 7,891,184 people in the UK have received the first dose of a COVID vaccination, with a further 478,254 receiving the second jab.

The UK's coronavirus reproduction number (R number) – is between 0.7 and 1.1, according to the latest estimate.

The R refers to the number of people an infected person will pass COVID-19 on to and means for every 10 people infected, they will pass the virus on to between seven and 11 others.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister said "it will not be possible to reopen schools" after the February half term, with the hope to bring pupils back from March 8.

Boris Johnson also told MPs that UK nationals and residents returning from "red list" countries will be placed in a 10-day quarantine in government-secured accommodation, such as hotels.