The 7-day case in Rutland has dropped, reflecting national trends.

England's smallest county also returned to recording no fatalities, after the weekend saw its first since April.

Today, Rutland recorded 17 positive tests with Covid 19, compared with 29 over the weekend and 7 on Friday. This compares with 18 last Monday and 6 the Monday before.

The 7-day rate is now 350.6 cases per 100,000, compared to Sunday's peak of 388.2 and 345.6 on Friday. Last Monday, it was 235.4 and it was 182.8 the Monday before.

Whilst the Rutland 7-day rate has fluctuated a little, the England average has steadily risen in recent weeks until Friday's peak of 540, which fell to 523.1 on Sunday and 499.4 today.

However, there has been a large increase in testing recently, with around a million tests a day and 7 million over the past week, though Sunday saw just 800,000 tests, giving a weekly figure of 6.5 million.

Rutland has now recorded 2162 cases recorded since the start of the pandemic- about one case for every 18 residents. This compares with the England average of about one-in-12.

The number of deaths is now 66, about one for every 600 residents, which compares with the national average of one-in-500 residents.

Prior to the 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, the 7-day case rate in South Kesteven dropped further, reflecting national trends.

Today, the district recorded 35 cases, less than half the 76 recorded last Monday and well down on the 91 over the weekend.

The district has also gone almost 12 weeks without recording a Covid-related fatality.

The 7-day case rate has dropped from Friday's peak of 353.9 cases per 100,000 of population to 336.3 yesterday and 301.9 today, though it still remains among its highest in months.

Last Monday, it stood at 259.8 and 167.1 cases per 100,000 the Monday before that.

Overall, there have been 9105 cases in South Kesteven since the start of the pandemic- equivalent to about one for about 16 residents in the district.

South Kesteven hasn't recorded a Covid-19 related death since Wednesday May 5.

The last fatality priority to that was Tuesday March 25, showing South Kesteven has experienced just two deaths with Covid-19 in more than 15 weeks.

The overall total remains at 270, about one for each 600 of the population, compared to the England average of one-in-500.

Meanwhile, there have been 379 new cases of coronavirus confirmed on Monday in Lincolnshire, as government ministers stopped short of ruling out COVID vaccine requirements for students attending university.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard on Monday reported 235 new cases in Lincolnshire, 88 in North East Lincolnshire and 56 in North Lincolnshire. The figure is 41% lower than last Monday's 652 cases.

NHS figures have reported one further hospital death in Lincolnshire's hospitals. Government figures, meanwhile, showed no further updates to their deaths data.

Nationally, the UK saw the sixth consecutive decline positive tests, with today';s figure of 24,950 about half of last Monday's figure.

252,875 have tested positive reported in the last 7 days (20 July 2021 – 26 July 2021). This is a drop of 69,295 or 21.5 per cent on the week before.

The number of deaths today was 14, which compares with 19 last Monday. Over the week 445 have died over the week, which is an increase of 149 or 50.3 per cent on the week before.

In national news, Number 10 has confirmed it is still looking at the scope for vaccination certifications, including the potential for compulsory vaccinations for students.

It could mean young people would need to be double-jabbed to attend lectures and stay in halls this coming academic year.

A spokesman from the Prime Minister's office, however, said more and more young people were coming forward to receive the vaccine.

"We aren't ruling it out," a senior government source told Sky News. "Of course, we want to see more people come forward to receive it.

"We would like to see everybody who is invited to come forward and receive the vaccination to do so. That's the message we continue to try and give to young people."

The plans, however, have been criticised by groups including Labour and the University and College Union.

Labour has also said it would oppose limiting access to Premier League games to double-jabbed fans.

The Prime Minister's office said that despite the number of cases falling nationally, the country was "not out of the woods".

The spokesman said people should "expect to see a rise in case numbers given the move to step four" of the roadmap.

There are a number of reasons put forward for the fall in case numbers, including a bounce caused by people gathering to watch the Euros, fewer people taking COVID tests and the hot temperatures.

Meanwhile, a survey of 5,000 by Public Health England revealed that more than 40% of adults in England could have gained weight during the pandemic, around half a stone.

Also, a YouGov survey has also revealed that mask wearing among younger people has decreased since Freedom Day.

The results found that 46% of 18-24-year-olds said they wore a face mask in public spaces in the week to July 19, compared to 57% on July 16 and 64% on June 2.

In general, 69% of people said they wore face masks in the last two weeks, down from 71% on July 16 and 73% on June 2.