Rutland has recorded three Covid-19 cases- the highest daily total in more than two weeks.

It comes after the district has enjoyed a week or so of few cases, which has pushed the county;s 7-day infection rate to new lows.

Apart from the three today, just three cases of the virus have been recorded in the pandemic over the past week, including one on Wednesday, one of Tuesday and one last Friday.

The county now has a 7-day infection rate of 10 cases per 100,000 of population- compared with 7.5 yesterday and 22.5 last Friday.It is also below half of the England average of 24.1.

Rutland has 1685 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 62- 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.

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, South Kesteven recorded five cases of Covid-19 today, compared with just one yesterday and two on Wednesday.

However, the 7-day infection rate for the district remains at 22.5 based on 32 cases over the past week.

There were no deaths recorded in the district but the first fatality in nearly 6 weeks last weekend puts the district's death tally on 267, equivalent to about one-in-600 residents, which is better than the England average of one-in-500 residents.

South Kesteven now has a 7-day infection rate of 22.5 , the same as yesterday, compared with 19 on Wednesday and 12.6 last Friday.

Whilst the figures fluctuate, the latest figures remain among the lowest since last year and less than a twentieth of figures earlier in the year when the weekly rate exceeded 400 cases per 100,000.

The England average is a more stable 24.1 cases per 100,000 population, though of course it has substantially fallen in recent months.

The grand total of 7640 cases in South Kesteven since the start of the pandemic is equivalent to just over one case per 20 residents. The national average is about one-in-15.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the "pandemic is not yet over" as England has seen COVID-19 cases of the Indian variant double in the last week.

England's coronavirus R number has increased slightly from 0.9-1.1 to 1.0-1.1 over the last week, latest government figures show, meaning for every 10 people with COVID-19, they will transmit the virus to between 10 and 11 others.

However, it is a different picture in Greater Lincolnshire with 150 coronavirus cases recorded this week so far and no COVID-related deaths, just six more cases than last week and one less death – put down to the high rate of vaccination in the county.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 24 new cases in Lincolnshire, two in North Lincolnshire and one in North East Lincolnshire.

No coronavirus deaths were reported in Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

However, NHS England has reported three local hospital deaths in Greater Lincolnshire hospitals so far this week, up from two last week but none on Friday.

National cases have increased by 4,182 to 4,477,705 – the first time there has been over 4,000 cases since April 1 – while deaths rose by 10 to 127,768.

The Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine has been approved for use in the UK from later this year, the medicines regulator has said.

The vaccine, developed by the company's pharmaceutical arm Janssen, has been shown to be 67% effective overall at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, with some studies suggesting it also offers complete protection from admission to hospital and death.

More than 1.5 million people flew into the UK between January and April while the UK's borders were supposed to be heavily restricted, new figures reveal.

Home Office data shows that about two-thirds of arrivals in 2021 were non-UK nationals.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock committed a "minor breach" of the ministerial code when a coronavirus contract was awarded to his sister's company in which he had share holdings, an independent report has found.

Mr Hancock addressed the nation in a Downing Street press conference on Thursday evening expressing his confidence in the vaccines being effective against the Indian variant, but adding that breaking the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths is critical.

Three in four adults now have COVID-19 antibodies, with the majority of vulnerable people having a level of protection, according to the Office for National Statistic (ONS) data.

The minister added: "The pandemic is not yet over so please keep doing your bit, remember basics, hands, face space, and fresh air, get your rapid regular tests and when you get the call, get both jabs."