Rutland has recorded a sharp rise in case numbers of Covid-19 today.

But once more, there were no deaths.

The county's 7-day case rate has shot up after 8 cases were reported today, up from zero yesterday.

The 7-day rate is now 52.6 cases per 100,000, compared with 37.6 yesterday and 32.6 in the week to Sunday.

Last Tuesday, the rate was 12.5 and it was 15 the Tuesday before that.

Rutland's 7-day case rate is almost half the England average of 94.6, and is much higher than the county's 5 rate of the Friday 11 or so days ago, which was based on 2 cases over a week, the lowest since last Summer.

England's 7-day case rate has crept up in recent weeks, whilst in Rutland it has fluctuated at low levels, at one stage last week amongst the lowest in the country.

Rutland has now recorded 1730 cases recorded since the start of the pandemic- about one case for every 25 residents. This compares with the England average of almost one-in-15.

The number of deaths remains at 65, the same as yesterday- about one for every 600 residents, which compares with the national average of one-in-500 residents.

Rutland's last recorded death was on the last Wednesday of April, the only death with Covid-19 recorded in Rutland during April and so far in May and June.

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, the 7-day Covid-19 infection rate in South Kesteven is bobbing up and down after a strong rise last week.

Six cases were recorded today, compared with ten last Tuesday and five the Tuesday before that.

The number of cases over the past week was 55, compared with 58 compared in the week to yesterday and 55 in the week to Saturday.

This is more than four times the recent low of 12 in the week to the Tuesday two weeks ago.

This means the 7-day rate for South Kesteven is now 38.6 cases per 100,000 of population, which is still less than half of the England 7-day case rate of 94.6.

South Kesteven now has a recorded 7777 cases since the start of the pandemic- about one for each 20 residents, which compares with the England average of one for each 15 residents.

The number of reported deaths remains at 270, following an 'increase' by 3 last Wednesday due to changes in how the figures were calculated, rather than any actual deaths.

Overall, there have been 124 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — almost double compared to last Tuesday (90.77% rise from 65), as government bosses continue to hold out for July 19 lockdown easing.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday recorded 63 new cases in Lincolnshire, 50 in North East Lincolnshire and 11 in North Lincolnshire.

Nationally on Tuesday, cases increased by 11,625 to 4,651,988 — the highest since mid-February — while a further 27 deaths took the tally to 128,008.

There are also fears people could be at higher risk of getting flu this winter after last year's lockdown led to "effectively" no respiratory viruses.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday did not rule out further lockdowns in the winter, warning that it could be a "rough" season.

Nationally, government bosses have been attempting to reassure people that COVID restrictions will end on July 19.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in the House of Commons that it was his "hope and expectation".

"We will have done what we set out to do, which is to get extra jabs in more people's arms to provide us with that extra level of protection we were seeking," he said.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the data was encouraging and that the growth in cases seemed to be slowing – with hospitalisations and deaths staying low.

The UK government has also confirmed that the crowd capacity at Wembley will be increased to more than 60,000 for the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020. It will mean the stadium will be able to be three-quarters full.

However, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon this afternoon confirmed delays to the nation's own COVID restrictions.