36 lives lost in Lincolnshire crashes since January

Lincoln could be in discussions over tier 2 (high) restrictions by the weekend, health bosses have said.

Lincolnshire County Council’s public health officials are advising that the city — at least — could be put into a higher tier as numbers continue to rise across the county.

Lincoln’s rate of infection per 100,000 of the population alone rose from 154.1 on October 16 to 213.5 on October 23, just above the England average of 212.5.

The city has had 1,063 cases since the pandemic began, with the number on Monday increasing by 59.

How cases have increased in the city of Lincoln up to October 26.

On Monday, 346 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Greater Lincolnshire, pushing October’s total to more than 5,000.

The county’s Outbreak Management Board, which includes representatives from councils, health and other response bodies, will meet on Wednesday to discuss the next steps.

Neighbours Nottinghamshire on Monday confirmed that Nottingham city along with the districts of Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe face tier 3 lockdown from midnight on Thursday — though Newark on the Lincolnshire border will stay in tier 2 for now.

Lincolnshire’s neighbours in Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire have much higher COVID-19 infection rates. | Data: GOV UK

Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director of public health Tony McGinty said Lincolnshire was “fairly close” to having similar conversations.

“If you look at the numbers in some of our districts we probably are going to be wanting to talk about taking additional measures over the coming week or two,” he said.

“Some of those numbers […] are looking quite difficult.”

He added: “Lincoln is having some particularly challenging times at the moment with its numbers […] for me at the moment, the district I’m spending most of my time talking to colleagues about and talking to City of Lincoln Council colleagues about is Lincoln.”

He said local and national leaders may want to have that conversation “over the coming days or weeks”.

The restrictions for tier 2 – high – lockdown.

Lincolnshire is tier 1 – medium – lockdown.

Lincolnshire is currently still on the medium (tier 1) level for the the new three-tier lockdown system of COVID-19 risk, which means it has no extra restrictions on top of the nation-wide ones.

If that decision is made to move up a tier, the next steps will include discussions over what the additional measures will mean and what extra funding will be made available.

Two adorable seal pups have been born over the last week to spread some positive news during the pandemic.

The first pup arrived at around 3pm on Thursday, October 22, but a specific time or day is not known for the second baby seal.

The pups are born with a white fluffy coat and weigh about 14kg. The mother will stay with the pup for about three weeks and will not go back to the sea to feed for herself during this time.

Latest seal count is 20 cows, 4 bulls and 2 pups, with one of the pups in the middle of these females. | Photo: Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

The latest seal count is 20 cows, 4 bulls and two pups.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust has introduced a new online booking system to allow people to safely visit the grey seals at Donna Nook.

Visitor numbers are restricted to 600 per day and a one-way system will be in place, with people asked to maintain a safe distance from each other.

Male seals (bulls) can weigh up to 300kg and its blubber is about as thick as the length of your middle finger. | Photo: Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

The viewing area opened on October 24 and is free for the first week, but booking is essential.

Tickets will be available here for four specified time slots and after the first week will be priced at £10 per car on Saturdays and Sundays and £7.50 per car on weekdays.

Three wards at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital have been closed to new admissions following a series of COVID outbreaks.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust believes the cases are connected and has now restricted visiting in order to contain the virus transmission.

A ULHT spokesperson said: “We have a number of patients and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston across three separate wards, and on each ward we believe the cases may be connected.

“Therefore, we have restricted admissions to the wards to ensure this is contained and does not impact on other staff, patients or services.”

They added that anyone with an appointment at the facility should still attend but can contact the relevant department if they had any concerns.

A 25-year-old man has been released on bail as investigations continue into the murder of a 53-year-old man on Newark Road in Lincoln.

Two men, aged 25 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of murder after the incident on Saturday evening.

The 31-year-old man was named as Michael Lambert from Throckley in Newcastle Upon Tyne after he was charged with murder.

He appeared at Lincoln Magistrates Court on Monday, October 26, while the 25-year-old man was released on bail pending further investigations.

The victim has not been named by police.

Lincolnshire Police have launched a dedicated public portal where people can report information about the death and upload dashcam footage.

Police would specifically like to hear from anyone who was on Newark Road between 5pm and 6.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage.

Any witnesses, or anyone with dashcam or CCTV footage, can also report information to police on 101 or via email at [email protected] quoting incident 346 of October 24.