Rutland has again recorded no deaths again, something which has happened every day for nearly four weeks.

There was also just two cases recorded, which means that the county has recorded eight cases over 7 days.

Overall, Rutland has seen 1645 cases since the start of the pandemic. This is equivalent to about one case for every 25 residents.

The 7-day infection rate has dropped to the low 20s per 100,000 of population, similar to the England average, but a technical problem on the government website has not provided accurate case rates today.

The numbers of deaths of people dying within 28 days of testing positive with the virus again remained at 61, which is equivalent to about one for every 700 residents. This compares to an England average of about one-in-500.

Meanwhile in Lincolnshire, a slight increase has been recorded in South Kesteven's 7-day infection rate but the number of cases has fallen today.

Today saw five cases recorded compared with eight yesterday and 14 cases over the weekend.

The number of cases has fallen from 67 in the week to Friday to 54 in the week to Sunday and 52 in the week to Monday but 53 today. The equivalent figure last Tuesday was 65.

This gives a 7-day rate of around 36 cases per 100,00, which compares with the England average of 26.8 recorded yesterday, but updated 'rates' are currently not published, as mentioned earlier.

In total, 7508 cases have been recorded in South Kesteven since the start of the pandemic. This is just over one-in-20 of the population.

As mentioned, no deaths were recorded over the weekend and this week, but last Tuesday the district record its first Covid-linked fatality in more than 3 weeks.

The total of 266 since the start of the pandemic means that around one-in-600 South Kesteven residents will have died withing 28 days of a positive test for the virus.

Overall, there have been 35 new coronavirus cases and no COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday – down from 50 cases and three deaths this time last week.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 17 new cases in Lincolnshire, 11 in North Lincolnshire and seven in North East Lincolnshire.

On Tuesday, no deaths were registered in Northern Lincolnshire but -1 in Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

On Tuesday, national cases increased by 2,524 to 4,393,307, while deaths rose by 33 to 127,307.

In national news, the European Medicines Agency says it has found a possible link between the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine and very rare cases of unusual blood clots.

But the EMA also said the "overall benefit-risk remains positive".

India's addition to the UK's "red list" of banned countries due to rising COVID cases and concerns over a new variant may have come too late, the UK's former chief scientific adviser has said.

Professor Mark Walport told the BBC he believed the new variant was "more transmissible" and there were "good reasons" for keeping it out of the UK.

Some police forces did not follow self-isolation rules last year due to "confusion" and fears over lack of staffing, according to a report.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said some forces "did not appear to follow the national requirement for self-isolating for test, track and trace".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told the nation that "we cannot delude ourselves COVID has gone away," as scientists predicted another wave of coronavirus "at some stage".

Mr Johnson said there was "nothing in the data" to suggest the government would have to deviate from its roadmap of relaxing restrictions in the next few weeks, and praised the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine so far.

He told a press conference on Tuesday: "The majority of scientific opinion in this country is still firmly of the view that there will be another wave of COVID at some stage this year. And so we must, as far as possible, learn to live with this disease as we live with other diseases."

He indicated this could include bolstering defences with booster jabs.

He also announced the launch of a new Antivirals Taskforce which would be searching for "the most promising new medicines" and supporting their development.

The aim is to ensure any new treatments will be ready as early as Autumn.

"This means, for example, that if you test positive, there might be a tablet you could take at home to stop the virus in its tracks, and significantly reduce the chance of infection turning into more severe disease," he said.

"By focusing on these new antivirals, we hope to lengthen the UK's lead in medicines and in life sciences, and to give ever greater confidence to the people of this country that we continue on our path towards freedom."

He said the recent reopening of pubs and hairdressers had been a "big step" and "has brought the first glimmerings of a return to normality".

"Science is helping us to get back towards normality and I believe that antiviral treatments can play an important part.  […] keep each other safe and see through our roadmap to reclaim our lives in full."