Rutland has recorded its first death Covid-19 since April.

Figures published on the government's Covid-19 tracker show an increase of one over the weekend.

England's smallest country is also experiencing a continue rise in the 7-day case rate, in contrast to the national situation, where the weekly rate fell after five successive days of falling case numbers.

Over the weekend, Rutland recorded 29 cases, compared with 7 on Friday and 20 on Thursday. This compares with 42 last weekend and 32 the weekend before.

The 7-day rate is now 388.2 cases per 100,000 compared with 345.6 on Friday, 202.9 last Sunday and 191.4 the Sunday before.

Nationally, there were 29,173 positive tests recorded, the fifth consecutive day the numbers have fallen.

Over the week until yesterday, there were 267,875 positive tests recorded,

28, a 48,816 (15.4 per cent drop) on the week before.

The declining figures contrast with gloomy scientific predictions of much higher numbers.

The number of deaths, however, was 28 yesterday, or 450 over the past week, an increase of 167 or 59 per cent.

Whilst the Rutland 7-day rate has fluctuated a little, the England average has steadily risen in recent weeks until yesterday's decrease from 540 on Friday to 523.1 on Sunday. A week ago it was at 398.6 cases per 100,000.

However, there has been a large increase in testing recently, with around a million tests a day and 7 million over the past week.

Rutland has now recorded 2145 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 in South Kesteven has turned down, reflecting national trends.

Over the weekend, 91 positive tests in the district were recorded, compared with 42 on Friday, 134 last weekend and 78 the weekend before.

The district has also gone more than 11 weeks without recording a Covid-related fatality.

The 7-day case rate has dropped from 353.9 cases per 100,000 of population on Friday to 336.3 yesterday, though still remains among its highest in months.

Last Sunday, it stood at 230.3 and 153.8 cases per 100,000 the Sunday before that.

However, despite the increases, it remains well below the England average.

Overall, there have been 9070 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.

Overall, across Greater Lincolnshire, there were 4,111 new cases of coronavirus in Greater Lincolnshire last week, down on the previous week's 4,889.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard over the weekend reported 525 new cases in Lincolnshire, 303 in North East Lincolnshire and 153 in North Lincolnshire.

The figure is 16% lower than last week's cases — but still 20% higher than the previous week's 3,452 cases.

NHS figures do not update at weekends, however, government figures show the death of one further Lincolnshire resident, bringing the total to six.

Figures nationally show a sustained fall in numbers for the past five days, however, health bosses have warned the case data is from the previous Monday.

With COVID-19 taking around two weeks to develop and show symptoms, scientists say they will not see the impact fully until next Friday, according to the BBC.

It is hoped the vaccine numbers, along with the hot weather, have helped ease the pandemic as more people spend time outside.

Ministers later today will decide if daily COVID testing can be further expanded to include more fully-vaccinated key workers, as the scheme starts with food chain and transport staff and emergency service workers today.