Rutland has almost maintained the significant drop in Covid-19 case numbers it reported over the weekend.

Yesterday (Mon), just six cases were recorded in the county, compared with twenty-two cases were recorded during Saturday and Sunday.

It means Rutland now has recorded 1072 cases since the start of the pandemic- about one for every 40 of its residents.

The 7-day case numbers dropped from 96 cases on Friday to 78 on Sunday but increased to 80 yesterday. The previous Friday, the seven day case numbers was 106.

Rutland's seven day case rate dropped before 200 for the first time since around the start of the New Year, but yesterday's small rise puts it in 200.4. This is less than half England's 7-day rate of 420.7 cases per 100,000.

Altogether, it means about one-in-500 in Rutland have succumbed to the virus over the past week.

Rutland recorded one death yesterday, adding to two at the weekend, putting it on 36 since the pandemic started- less than one in a thousand of the county's population.

Elsehwere, there have been 259 new coronavirus cases and seven COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Monday.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 213 new cases in Lincolnshire, 28 in North Lincolnshire and 18 in North East Lincolnshire.

Among the districts, South Kesteven recorded 59 cases today, giving a grand total of 5693 since the start of the pandemic.

This is equivalent to 3997.2 cases per 100,000 of population, meaning about one-in-25 of the district's population will have succumbed to the virus at some stage during the pandemic.

The 7-day rate remained at 297.7 cases per 100,000 as the number of weekly cases remained at 424. Over the past week or so, it has hovered around the 400 mark, with a rate around 300.

The death toll in South Kesteven today increased one to 177, meaning 124.3 have died per 100,000. This is also well below the England rate of 153.7 cases per 100,000. This means about one on 800 South Kesteven residents have died with Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Overall, today some six deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and one in North Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

National cases increased by 22,195 to 3,669,658 — the lowest daily rise in cases since December 15, while deaths rose by 592 to 98,531.

In national news, the government will tell teachers and parents when schools in England can reopen "as soon as we can", the prime minister has said.

MPs have called on the government to set out a "route map" for reopening amid concerns for children's education.

Men in low-skilled jobs or caring, leisure or other service roles had the highest rate of death from COVID-19 in England and Wales from March to December last year, according to new figures.

The Office for National Statistics said 7,961 deaths involving coronavirus in the working age population (those aged 20 to 64 years) were registered between March 9 and December 28, 2020.

Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer is self-isolating for the third time since the start of the pandemic after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

This morning I was notified that I must self isolate after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 25, 2021