CORONAVIRUS: Boston fifth highest in UK for infection rate - but figures moving in right direction

According to the government’s latest figures, Boston’s rate of infection per 100,000 up to yesterday (December 7) is 451.7 (down from 528.7 on December 4) with the town now the fifth highest in the UK for infection rate per 100,000.

Yesterday’s figures showed there were 317 cases in the district.

Lincolnshire’s seven-day average is 234 per 100,000, compared to a national average of 148.7.

As well as Boston, Lincoln is also one of the highest in the country, at 12th out of all local authorities in the UK with a rate of 375.6 (up from 373.6)

Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director for public health Tony McGinty said the reasons though were “happening differently in different places”.

Boston’s figures include a number of outbreaks in care homes and other settings.

“If I look at Boston, the rate in the last seven days is much lower than when we were really worried about it six or seven days ago,” he said.

“It is improving, but it’s still running a lot higher than we would want it to.”

He said there was concerted work to get the numbers down.

However, he said Lincoln was generally “running along at a higher level” rather than being linked to outbreaks.

“What we’re seeing in Lincoln is it’s tending to bolt along at a relatively high rate, it then goes down a little bit and then goes back up a little bit.

“We think that’s got a lot to do with the kind of place Lincoln is — all the shops being open, the town centre being busy, lots of people going to work in those shops and in other places [people] want to use.”

The county is currently under the toughest (tier 3) COVID-19 restrictions and will be hoping to see more relaxed rules when the government reviews the tiers on December 16.

However, bosses remain skeptical that we won’t be spending Christmas with the axe of tier three over our heads.

In the latest data three districts — Lincoln, North Kesteven and South Kesteven — all increased their infection rates, though the majority decreased.

Greater Lincolnshire overall has been slowly decreasing, but has consistently remained above the England average for the past week.