Rutland has recorded 20 Covid-19 cases today, compared with 10 yesterday.

The figure has further delivered a rise in the county's 7-day infection rate, making it higher than the England average.

Whilst the national scene is improving, the current Rutland 7-day case rate is now 313.1 cases per 100,000 of population, compared with 288 yesterday and its recent low of 242.9 on Sunday.

Last Wednesday, the rate was 285.5 cases per 100,000 and it was 290.5 the Wednesday before.

England's smallest county also continues to record no fatalities, after last weekend saw its first death since April.

Whilst the Rutland 7-day rate has fluctuated a little, the England average has steadily risen in recent weeks until last Friday's peak of 540 almost a fortnight ago, which has since fallen to 288.1 today.

However, there has been a large increase in testing recently, with around a million tests a day and 7 million over a past week, though in recent days it has fallen to 720,000 on Monday and 5.4M over a week.

Rutland has now recorded 2312 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-11.

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 about ten days ago, 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 64 cases of Covid-19 today.

The number has further increased the district's 7-day infection rate to its highest in a week.

The 64 positive tests compares with 41 positive tests recorded yesterday and 58 on Monday.

It also compares with last Wednesday's 48 positive tests and 49 the week before.

The 7-day rate for South Kesteven is now 231.7 cases per 100,000, compared with 227.5 yesterday, 245 last Wednesday and 331.4 the Wednesday before.

Overall, there have been 9560 cases in South Kesteven since the start of the pandemic- equivalent to about one for about 15 residents in the district, which compares to the England average of one-in-11.

The number of fatalities stands at 272, after increasing one yesterday, which followed on from a further fatality at the weekend.

Prior to those cases, the only other recent cases of people dying with Covid in South Kesteven were on May 5 and March 25.

This means the district has recorded 4 deaths in just over 4 months.

In national news, all 16 and 17-year-olds should be given their first dose of coronavirus vaccine, government scientific advisers have recommended as 679 cases of the virus are confirmed in Greater Lincolnshire on Wednesday.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, however, said it would recommend second doses following further safety data at a later date.

It means 1.4 million older teenagers will be offered vaccinations in the next few weeks.

During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, bosses said they expected the vaccine to provide more than 80% protection and that side effects were rare.

Dr June Raine, from the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, said it had also been shown to be effective in those aged 12-15. She said the benefits of the jab far outweighed the risk.

However, no decision on that age range has been made yet.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, from the JCVI, said: "While Covid-19 is typically mild or asymptomatic in most young people, it can be very unpleasant for some and for this particular age group, we expect one dose of the vaccine to provide good protection against severe illness and hospitalisation."

Meanwhile, Lincoln has remained top of the infection rate table nationally, with its seven-day rate increasing from 653.6 per 100,000 population to 716.

Government figures released on Wednesday showed 439 new cases in Lincolnshire, 104 in North Lincolnshire and 136 in North East Lincolnshire.

The 679 case total is 13.4% higher than last Wednesday's 599 cases.

Government figures showed one further deaths in its figures today in the North East Lincolnshire region.

However, NHS figures reported no further deaths in Greater Lincolnshire's hospital facilities today.

In Greater Lincolnshire, coronavirus infection rates in Greater Lincolnshire have dropped in the past week, despite a number of districts climbing the rankings nationally.

As of Tuesday's government figures, Lincoln was the district with the highest infection rate, however, its figure of 653.6 per 100,000 population was far below previous top players.

For instance, last Tuesday, North East Lincolnshire sat sixth highest with an infection rate of 908.7, but this week is 13th, having slashed its rate by nearly half to 471.3.