Coleby School reports first Covid infections

Coleby Primary School has announced it has received notification of its first cases of the virus among its pupils and staff, requiring some to self-isolate.

Andy Fox, consultant in public health, said: “We’ve had 12 schools make initial contact in the past seven days because of a pupil or staff member testing positive for coronavirus. The current rate of incidence in school age children in Lincolnshire is 159 cases per 100,000 over seven days, which is much lower than the rate of 221 cases per 100,000 for all ages.

Digby CE Primary School also announced it had been affected in the last week, while other local schools continue to manage with some pupils and staff off isolating.

Mr Fox said: “All schools are taking action to limit the potential spread of the virus, with some pupils and staff self-isolating as a precaution where necessary. The majority of schools remain fully open, and those affected are working really well to limit both the risk of the virus spreading and the impact on the pupils’ education.”

here have been 227 new coronavirus cases and 23 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday.

The government’s COVID-19 dashboard yesterday (Tuesday) recorded 173 new cases in Lincolnshire, 31 in North Lincolnshire and 23 in North East Lincolnshire.

On Tuesday, 18 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, four in North Lincolnshire and one in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

NHS England reported 10 new local hospital deaths on Tuesday, including five at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust and five at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.

On Tuesday, an 84-year-old retired NHS worker was the first person in Lincolnshire to get the new COVID-19 vaccine. Janet Judson from Lincoln received the coronavirus jab on Tuesday morning at Lincoln County Hospital.

The government’s chief scientific adviser has said face masks could still be needed late into next year despite the rollout of the vaccine programme this month.