Rutland has recorded 26 cases of Covid 19 today, bringing a small fall in its 7-day infection rate.

The same number of positive tests were also reported yesterday, following 23 on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Last Friday saw 25 cases, with 24 the Friday before.

This gives the district a 7-day infection rate of 343.3 cases per 100,000 of population- down on yesterday's 353.3 which was the highest in about 7 weeks. This compares with 338.5 on Wednesday, 343.4 on Tuesday, 321.2 last Friday and the Friday before.

The county now has recorded 2952 having tested positive with the virus since the pandemic started- about one-in-14 of its population- better than England's one-in-9 of the population.

Rutland has now exceeded six weeks without a Covid-related fatality.

Public Health England figures say the last such death was on the weekend of July 25.

Since the pandemic started, 66 county residents have died within 28 days of testing positive. This is about one for every 600 residents, which compares with the national average of one-in-500 residents.

Prior to the county's latest fatality, the last recorded such death in England's smallest county was on Wednesday April 28. Before that it was Thursday March 25.

Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, South Kesteven has recorded 80 cases and no Covid-related deaths today.

This follows three such fatalities this week- one at the weekend, another on Tuesday and one yesterday, making it three this month and ten in August.

Today's 80 positive tests follows 57 recorded yesterday, 48 on Wednesday and 57 on Tuesday. Last Friday saw 91 and the Friday before recorded 82.

The current weekly rate of 328.2 cases per 100,000 of population is the lowest this week and compares with last Friday's 335.1 and 338.6 the Thursday before that.

With its fluctuations, South Kesteven has a higher 7-day infection rate than Lincolnshire's 325.2 but is lower than England's 338.3, both of which have been far more consistent.

Overall, since the pandemic started, South Kesteven has recorded 12,103 positive tests - about one case for each 12 residents. Again, this is better than the England average, which is about one case for every 9 people.

The figures come amid much testing, almost a third up on the previous week, currently running around 1.2 million a day or 8 million over a week nationally, which is almost a third up on the previous week.

Prior to the August and September deaths, South Kesteven reported such fatalities on May 5 and March 25, making it 15 Covid related deaths in over 5 months.

It means since the pandemic started, official government figures record 283 fatalities in South Kesteven within 28 days of a positive test for Covid-19.

The total amounts to 197.6 deaths per 100,000, which is equivalent to one fatality for just over 500 residents.

The England average is one death for just under 500 residents.

Overall, across Greater Lincolnshire, there have been 2,714 cases of coronavirus confirmed so far this week, as the COVID vaccine creator called for doses of the jab to be donated to poorer countries.

Government figures on Friday showed 407 new cases in Lincolnshire, 94 in North East Lincolnshire and 93 in North Lincolnshire. The total weekly figure so far is 21% lower than last week's 3,423.

No further deaths of Greater Lincolnshire residents were confirmed in the government figures, leaving the weekly total at 10 compared to 13 for last week.

Nationally, cases increased by 37,622 to 7,168,806 while deaths rose by 147 to 133,988.

Leading scientists have called for the UK to donate some vaccines to countries where people are still waiting for a first dose.

The scientist who developed the Oxford-AZ vaccine Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert told the BBC that offering a third booster dose to millions of people was "a complex decision".

"More doses are becoming available and we need to focus on getting those doses to countries that really need them," she said.

Elsewhere, the UK's reproduction number has stayed the same since this time last week.

The "R number" is currently between 0.9 and 1.1, which means means that for every 10 people infected, they will infect between 9 and 11 other people on average.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that one in 70 people in England had COVID-19 in the week ending September 3.

Latest results from our #COVID19 Infection Survey show a mixed picture across the UK.

In the week ending 3 Sept 2021, infection rates

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) September 10, 2021

The ONS' latest analysis shows "uncertain" trends for most regions, but the North East saw a hike in numbers.

Meanwhile, those aged two to School Year 11 saw an increase, while 25-34-year-olds and 50-69-year-olds saw decreases in the number of cases.