270 further coronavirus cases in North Kesteven

The number of coronavirus cases in North Kesteven increased by 270 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

A total of 19,513 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in North Kesteven when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on December 30 (Thursday), up from 19,243 on Wednesday.

The rate of infection in North Kesteven now stands at 16,516 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 19,149.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 188,124 over the period, to 12,748,050.

Due to a data issue, newly reported cases from Wales cover a two-day period, meaning the total figure reported for the UK may be higher than expected.

However, there were no new coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in North Kesteven.

The dashboard shows 248 people had died in the area by December 30 (Thursday) – which was unchanged from Wednesday.

It means there have been no deaths in the past week, which is a decrease on two the previous week.

They were among 11,794 deaths recorded across the East Midlands.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in North Kesteven.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death, so some areas might see their figures revised down.

The figures also show that nearly nine in 10 people in North Kesteven have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 91,088 people had received both jabs by December 29 (Wednesday) – 85% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

Across England, 82% of people aged 12 and above had received a second dose of the jab.

Unlike at local level, the national rate was calculated using mid-2020 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.