Lincolnshire unlikely to see second COVID-19 wave, say health bosses

There are now just 20 students and one staff with COVID-19 at the University of Lincoln.

The positive cases dropped by more than 60% in the past week, as some students prepare to go home for Christmas after the start of mass testing.

The University of Lincoln said on November 24 that it had 61 coronavirus cases (58 students and three staff), but this number has now fallen to just 21 (20 students and one member of staff).

This news comes after a testing programme began at the University of Lincoln on November 30, where asymptomatic students can voluntarily book a test online until December 9.

It is recommended that students should test negative twice, three days apart, before travelling home for Christmas, but this is not a mandatory requirement.

Results will be received within an hour for each of the two tests required. If students test negative they can travel home immediately. If they test positive they must isolate in Lincoln before going home.

They’re doing it in a marquee outside the university’s sports hall. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

A University of Lincoln spokesperson, said: “The number of positive cases confirmed amongst our students and staff is 21 (less than 0.5% of our University population).

“Our dedicated team of staff continue to deliver care packages to any students who require them. All students have access to a wide range of academic and professional services to support them and help them make the most of their time here.”

Bishop Grosseteste University

On-campus coronavirus testing was also implemented for staff and students at Bishop Grosseteste University from November 30, although testing is not mandatory.

Staff and students will be able to receive Lateral Flow Testing to identify whether or not they are carrying the virus. This will run daily until December 11.

In addition to this, there will also be the opportunity to undertake testing throughout the evening of December 7 and 11.

The testing process will take place in the university’s sports hall, with individuals required to take two separate tests across four days. Slots need to be booked in advance – see more information here.

The university moved to online learning from November 30 but those remote to campus are still able to visit to access the testing facility.

Four students at Bishop Grosseteste University are self-isolating due to a positive test result.

The latest data, which was released on December 3, also states that seven students are self-isolating with suspected symptoms and waiting to be tested or to receive a test result.

Also, 92 students and two members of staff are self-isolating as a precautionary measure because a close contact/member of their household has suspected symptoms or tested positive – see the full data here.

The MP for Grantham and Stamford said Lincolnshire should be divided into two lockdown tiers, with the south of the county going into tier 2, while central and northern areas remain in tier 3.

Gareth Davies MP voted in favour of the new three-tier system, but he disagrees with the ranking for his constituency: “In the south of Lincolnshire we all know that we very rarely travel to the north where they are having extremely high rates of infection, so it is only right that the government look at south Lincolnshire on its own merits.”

South Holland and South Kesteven are the only two districts in Greater Lincolnshire with lower infection rates than the national average, but are still in tier 3 restrictions.

Gareth Davies added: “I was profoundly disappointed to see this given that our rates of infection were more in line with a tier 2 classification.”

“We have been assigned to tier 3 because of the extremely high rates of infection in the north of the county, specifically East Lindsey and Boston.”

Gareth Davies, Grantham and Stamford MP

On December 2, South Holland had the lowest infection rate in Greater Lincolnshire, with 121 per 100,000 of the population. It ranked 208th in the country out of 380 authorities.

South Kesteven was the second lowest district in Greater Lincolnshire with an infection rate of 148.1 on December 2 and ranked 151th.

Both districts are below the national average of 157.6, and infection rates are reducing each day.

| Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite

Gareth Davies has worked with Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings, to call for a review of their specific tier on a more localised basis, so that the movement patterns of south Lincolnshire residents are better reflected.

Together with Sir Edward Leigh MP, County Council Leader Martin Hill and other local leaders, they wrote to the Prime Minister to call for a district-based approach to tiering.

Sir John Hayes, South Holland and the Deepings MP.

Matt Hancock replied: “We will formally review the data and tier allocations for all area across England on December 16 and every two weeks thereafter, and I can assure you that we will again assess each area individually, including areas within Lincolnshire such as south Lincolnshire, on its own merits based on the five criteria we set out in the Winter Plan.”

He added the government will take “into account the very challenging impact of tier 3 measures.”

The ex-chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral has been found not guilty of indecent assault on a teenage student in the 1990s.

Reverend Canon Paul Overend, 54, of Vicars Court, Lincoln, was accused of sexually assaulting the girl during a party at his house in 1997, while he was a chaplain at Cardiff University.

The alleged victim, a student at the university at the time, told the court that he appeared suddenly in the kitchen, alone with her, and proceeded to take hold of her and kiss her across her chest and arms.

The incident is said to have made the complainant “lose her faith” and not return to the chaplaincy for 18 years.

Overend denied the charge held against him and even denied knowing who the victim was.

He said: “It would be so out of character, I don’t relate to people like that.”

The jury was formed of nine men and three women. They reached their verdict after an hour and 41 minutes of deliberation.

He was cleared of the charge at Newport Crown Court on Thursday, December 3 and said that, despite the positive result for himself, the trial hurt everyone involved.

Speaking after the verdict outside the court, Overend said: “No happy outcomes were possible today, only damaged and broken people.