Improved cyclist facilities planned for Whisby Road in Lincoln

England will enter the next stage of its roadmap out of coronavirus lockdown on Monday, meaning non-essential retail and gyms can reopen, as well as pubs, bars and restaurants for outdoor service only.

The rules will come into play on Monday, April 12, allowing for the retail sector to open its doors for customers once again, less than two weeks after the latest lockdown easing on March 29, which meant outdoor socialising was allowed for up to six people.

Hospitality venues will be able to reopen as well, but only for outdoor service, with a full reopening planned for May 17 if COVID-19 cases continue to stay low and the vaccination programme keeps its course.

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See which Lincoln pubs and bars are opening for outdoor service on April 12

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The rule of six does still remain for outdoor socialising, and people are still being asked not to meet indoors with anyone they don’t live with, unless they are part of a support bubble or legally exempt.

People are also still being asked to keep travel down to a minimum, though since March 29 it is no longer a legal requirement to stay local or at home.

The full list of new rules are:

• Hairdressers and nail salons can reopen
• Public buildings such as libraries and community centres can reopen
• Non-essential retail (clothes shops etc) will be able to return to business
• Self-contained accommodation will be able to reopen for overnight stays with your household or support bubble
• Weddings, wakes and other commemorative events will be allowed up to 15 people, including inside, but wedding receptions must be outdoors
• All childcare and supervised activities will be allowed indoors and outdoors for all children, this is also the case for parent and child groups
• Most outdoor attractions (zoos, theme parks, drive-in performances) will be able to reopen
• Care home residents will be able to have two named individuals for regular indoor visits (so long as they have a negative lateral flow test)

Lincolnshire Police’s assistant chief constable, Kerrin Wilson, said: “Lockdown has hit practically every aspect of life as we know it, and perhaps the hardest part has been not being able to connect with family and friends in person.

“The easing of restrictions will come as a great relief to many, and I hope the new rules, which afford us the chance to socialise safely as well as get back to doing some of the things we all took for granted, will contribute to a feeling of wellbeing for us all.

“While many of you will already be busy making plans, some of you may feel a sense of nervousness or worry about society opening back up, and we want to assure you that we are still here to protect you and enforce the rules when needed.

“The easing of restrictions does not mean that lockdown has lifted completely. It is a journey that we are all on, and to enable later restrictions to be lifted in June we must all do our bit to continue to follow the rules now.

Legal limits on the number of people allowed to gather at one time remain in place, social distancing must be maintained, and masks worn in public settings such as shops or public transport to keep yourself and everyone else safe. Let’s continue to be sensible and watch out for each other.”

Meanwhile, to help with keeping cases low, free rapid asymptomatic tests can be ordered at home. Here are the details.

A group of food-loving Grimsby men have started a unique business in the town, offering rainbow-coloured bagel burgers with locally sourced ingredients — and The Lincolnite went to check it out.

The Bad Boy Bagel Company began just six weeks ago in late February, and is the brainchild of directors Max Barnet and brothers Max and Charlie Leonard.

Their rainbow coloured bagels have been a huge hit with the people of Northern Lincolnshire, and chef Max Leonard said it’s all about standing out.

He told The Lincolnite: “Everything in modern day life is about pictures, we used the colourful buns as a way to stand out from the crowd.

“We have other unique selling points too: we are the only local place that uses wagyu beef, and all of our produce is locally sourced.”

Of course we had to try it out, so we trialled the bestseller, the Bad Boy Hash Bagel, as well as some loaded dirty fries.

Taste wise it was genuinely sensational, the 4oz wagyu beef patty was tender, and was complimented brilliantly with the hash browns, bacon and crispy onions.

Naturally you expect the bun to taste peculiar, but it tastes just as good as a regular bun, so add onto that the bright colours and it’s a win-win.

The loaded fries came in an large portion, served with pulled pork, mozzarella, smoked cheddar, crispy onions and a top secret Bad Boy sauce.

The bagels vary from £8-13 in price, while the loaded fries are either £4.95 or £5.95 depending on toppings.

As well as this, we tried out the intriguing Cake Shakes, which consist of a slice of homemade cake blended with local ice cream and milk.

They set you back anywhere between £4 and £6, but if you have a sweet tooth they are an absolute must.

Max has had a lifelong passion for food, and developed his skills from a young age when he would watch his mother make roast dinners.

Demand for sales have been beyond the Bad Boy Bagels’ wildest expectations since opening.

“In the first weekend we ordered an adequate amount of stock and it sold out straight away. Then the next weekend we doubled our orders and sold out again.

“I’m a vegetarian but I know that our meat tastes great, the feedback we have received so far has been overwhelming.”

The lads from Grimsby have also been running ZBR Performance over the last year, a meal prep business for fitness and nutrition.

Max Leonard does not work for ZBR, but said: “I come in and cook the things that people really want to eat!”

They are available for collection or delivery, and you can browse the menu for yourself here, or visit the Bad Boy Bagel Co Facebook page for more.

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The Lincolnite tries Roco BBQ: From local chef to taco takeaway

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The Lincolnite tries: KFC Zinger Popcorn Chicken

A luxury four-bedroom barn conversion in a Lincolnshire village is on the market for £1 million and even has its own self-contained annexe and bar.

Bramble Barn is located at East End in Langtoft and also includes four bathrooms, three large reception rooms, sitting room with wood-burning stove, open-plan dining kitchen and entertaining area.

The self-contained one-bedroom annexe and home office with bar is one of the standout property’s features. Let’s take a look inside.

Guests, friends and family can relax in front of the wood-burning stove and the open plan living area extends into a contemporary fitted kitchen.

The fully fitted bar is described as having an authentic pub-vibe. A door from the bar leads onto a decked and enclosed garden for enjoying a drink or two in the sun.

Upstairs is the mezzanine level, a home office, studio or cinema room.

The south-west facing terrace and gardens provides a great space for hosting summer parties and barbecues.

The property is being marketed by Pelham James – see the full listing here.

There have been 308 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and nine COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 46% drop in cases and 25% reduction in deaths from the previous week.

The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded nine new cases in North Lincolnshire but -69 cases in Lincolnshire and -4 in North East Lincolnshire. This is due to the dashboard changing the way it reports cases.

On April 9, four deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, two in North East Lincolnshire and one in North Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.

NHS England reported no hospitals this week so far, down from four recorded this time last week.

On Friday, national cases increased by 3,150 to 4,365,461, while deaths rose by 60 to 127,040.

In local news, COVID-19 mutations of concern have been detected by health officials in Lincolnshire, but they said they’ve been contained, and there is “no longer transmission, no issues.”

The Brazil and South Africa variants have worried scientists because they are thought to be much more contagious than the original strain, and can therefore spread faster in the population, and potentially be vaccine-resistant.

Health bosses have also said there have been no hospitalisations or deaths from a care home coronavirus outbreak in West Lindsey at the end of March.

Everyone in Lincolnshire can now get two free rapid asymptomatic coronavirus tests a week, and this is how you can access them.

Great Lincolnshire has seen a fall in all of its districts’ infection rates since Wednesday, however South Holland and North Lincolnshire are still in the UK’s top 20 highest rates.

The England average infection rate has fallen too but is still below Greater Lincolnshire’s average by around 20 per 100,000 of the population.

Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to April 9:

Nationally, Europe’s drugs regulator is reviewing possible links between blood clots and Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine.

The move comes after four serious cases of rare clots with low platelets were reported after the COVID-19 jab, one of which was fatal, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

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Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 9

58,544 cases (up nine)

• 40,813 in Lincolnshire (down 69)
• 9,176 in North Lincolnshire (up nine)
• 8,555 in North East Lincolnshire (down four)

2,180 deaths (up seven)

• 1,608 from Lincolnshire (up four)
• 304 from North Lincolnshire (up one)
• 268 from North East Lincolnshire (up two)

of which 1,300 hospital deaths (no change)

• 808 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
• 41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
• 450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

4,365,461 UK cases, 127,040 deaths

DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.