Two Covid-19 related deaths were recorded in Rutland yesterday, meaning 39 have died with virus since the pandemic started.

The number of cases increased 8 to 1086, giving a small increase to the 7-day infection rate.

Yesterday's figures from the Government's UK Covid-19 Tracker still shows Rutland performing far better than the national average.

The number of deaths in Rutland still amounts to less than one-in-a-thousand of the county's population.

The 100,000 UK deaths tally amounts to about one-in-670.

Rutland's 7 day case rate increased from 179.4 cases per 100,000 to 200.4, meaning that in the past week about one-in-500 will have succumbed to the virus.

This rate is about half the England rate of 386.6.

The county's number of cases in total is at 1086, meaning about one-in-40 will have succumbed to the virus at some stage during the pandemic.

Elsewhere, the government's COVID-19 dashboard recorded 233 new cases in Lincolnshire, 32 in North Lincolnshire and 24 in North East Lincolnshire.

Among the districts, South Kesteven recorded 61 cases today, an increase on the 47 cases recorded yesterday but down from 59 cases on Monday, giving a grand total of 5801 since the start of the pandemic.

This is equivalent to 4073 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 has dropped to 294.2 cases per 100,000 as the number of weekly cases dropped to 419. Over the past week or so, it has hovered around the 400 mark, with a rate around 300.

South Kesteven's number of deaths increased 6 to 182, compared with 5 yesterday, giving a rate of 132.8 per 100,000, meaning around one-in-800 of the district's population died with Covid-19.

Overall, on Wednesday, 18 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 Wednesday, national cases increased by 25,308 to 3,715,054, while deaths rose by 1,725 to 101,887.

The Prime Minister has 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.

The 22 "red list" countries where there is a risk of known variants include South Africa, Portugal and South American nations.

Nationally, "a legacy of poor decisions" by the UK before and during the pandemic led to one of the worst death rates in the world, scientists have said.

Professor Linda Bauld, public health expert from the University of Edinburgh, said the UK's current position was "a legacy of poor decisions that were taken when we eased restrictions".

People infected with the new coronavirus variant discovered in the UK are less likely to report losing taste and smell as part of their symptoms, a study has found.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the condition was "significantly less common" in patients who tested positive for the new variant compared to those with other variants of COVID-19.