Eight new COVID-19 cases as lockdown enters week 20

There have been eight new cases but no deaths in Greater Lincolnshire over the weekend as the UK enters the 20th week of coronavirus restrictions.

NHS figures showed no new deaths across the region’s hospitals, while the government’s postcode data also showed no additional deaths of residents.

However, the data showed another seven confirmed cases in Lincolnshire and one further one in North Lincolnshire.

Nationally, the number of cases increased to 304,695 while the death toll rose to 46,201.

Monday, August 3 is also the start date of the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme which allows people to get 50% off meals and non-alcoholic drinks, up to £10 a head, when they dine in, every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, until the end of the month.

A list of confirmed businesses carrying out the scheme is available here.

However, the weekend also saw bad news for businesses including bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos as Prime Minister Boris Johnson postponed the easing of further restrictions on Friday.

Mr Johnson also used a press briefing to urge people to wear face coverings in more venues such as museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship.

The measures were in response to increases in cases in the north of England, including a tightening of restrictions in Greater Manchester.

No contact tracing needed in Lincolnshire pubs in first month

Lincolnshire health bosses have not yet had to use any pub or restaurant COVID-19 contact tracing data, a month on from the venues reopening.

Lincolnshire County Council’s consultant in public health Andy Fox also revealed that around 80% of people with coronavirus symptoms were being monitored, and a further 80% of close contacts traced.

Pubs and restaurants reopened on July 4 as part of the governments relaxation of coronavirus lockdown. So far, two pubs have had coronavirus scares:

• A Lincoln sports club closed temporarily after a customer tested positive. They later returned a negative test.
• A Gainsborough pub also closed after a staff member displayed symptoms. They also later tested negative.

On Monday, the new Eat Out to Help Out scheme launched for the month, aiming to bolster the hospitality trade Mondays through to Wednesday with up to £10 off per person on food and soft drinks.

Mr Fox said so far no local outbreaks had occurred in businesses, meaning the data pubs and restaurants had collected to help with contact tracing had not been needed.

“Our team, I’m very pleased to say, haven’t been having to deal with many outbreaks associated with specific businesses that have been capturing contact information at this point, that’s good news,” he said.

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Second Lincolnshire business faces lockdown licence loss

A second Lincolnshire business faces having its licence revoked for breaching coronavirus lockdown after people were seen eating and drinking inside.

Jorge Carmezim, the designated premises supervisor at Raphael’s Coffee Shop on Westlode Street in Spalding, will appear before South Holland District Council’s licensing committee next Tuesday.

Lincolnshire Police said the premises had allowed “multiple customers on the premises consuming alcoholic drinks during the period when non-essential premises were required to be closed.”

A statement issued on behalf of Chief Constable Bill Skelly said police received a call stating Rafeal’s had 20 customers inside eating, drinking and playing music on Saturday, June 20.

An officer using a body worn camera recorded “numerous” customers “sat at the bar drinking out of bottles” in the middle of the premises and in an outside seating area at the rear with “plates with remnants of food on and bottles on the tables in front of them”.

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Just one Lincolnshire face mask fine so far

Just one fine has been issued by Lincolnshire Police for not wearing a face mask in shops since the rule was introduced.

Face coverings became compulsory in shops on July 24, with fines of up to £100 to enforce it.

So far just one person in the county was fined by police for not wearing a face mask.

It was a man in Boston who failed to wear face covering in a shop.

The man said that he forgot to bring one with him, and he also didn’t buy one from the shop he entered.

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Six new coronavirus cases in Lincolnshire

There have been six coronavirus cases confirmed across Lincolnshire on Wednesday, but no new deaths.

Government figures released this afternoon also confirmed there had been no further cases in North and North East Lincolnshire.

Nationally there were an additional 892 cases bringing the total to 307,184.

The breakdown of the 3,498 cases is:

• 2,543 in Lincolnshire (up from 2,537)
• 737 in North Lincolnshire (no change)
• 218 in North East Lincolnshire (no change)

NHS figures earlier today showed no new COVID-19 related deaths in any of the hospital trust covering Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.

It means the region has now gone seven days without any extra deaths in hospitals.

The government figures also showed no new deaths of patients from each of the region’s postcodes outside of hospitals leaving the total at 463.

The breakdown of hospital deaths for the county is:

• 143 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
• 4 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
• 118 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

Nationally, 65 further deaths were reported with the UK death tally rising to 46,364.

COVID-19 cases at Lincolnshire border tripled in a week

Lincolnshire’s health bosses are monitoring the coronavirus situation in neighbouring Newark, where cases tripled in the last week.

Eight cases of COVID-19 were also reported at the Bakkavor Dessert Factory in Newark on Wednesday, sparking warnings from the MP Robert Jenrick and other authorities.

According to the government’s dashboard, cases in Newark and Sherwood have increased by nine since Saturday, August 1. Since July 27 there have been 27 extra cases recorded officially.

However, it is unclear whether this includes the cases at the factory or if they are still to be added on to the figures.

BBC’s East Midlands Today reported this afternoon that the increase in Newark and Sherwood puts the region among the top 25 local authorities in the UK for cases.

With many commuting into the region, Lincolnshire County Council’s Director of Public Health Derek Ward said: “We continue to monitor our own figures and are sharing information across our border authorities to make sure we are aware and linked in with relevant incidents.”

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Newark COVID-19 outbreak hasn’t impacted Lincolnshire yet

Lincolnshire health bosses say they are not seeing any concerning patterns in the spread of coronavirus cases in the county, despite a recent outbreak in neighbouring Newark.

Derek Ward, Lincolnshire County Council’s director for public services, said he and his team were “keeping a close eye on” the situation and talking with Newark and Sherwood authorities.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that Newark had seen an outbreak of eight new cases at a factory in the region and MP Robert Jenrick warned people not be complacent about social distancing guidance.

However, Mr Ward said figures in Lincolnshire were broadly in line with those from last week. “We’re certainly paying close attention to it because there’s clearly a number of cases. We’re in touch with Newark and Sherwood Council and  talking to them just to get the most up to date data and keeping it keeping a close eye on it,” he said.

He added that his team had not seen a discernible pattern of COVID-19 in the county from the postcode level data they were receiving, and that infection rates in Lincolnshire remained the lowest in the Midlands.

However, this data does not include whether residents commute to work – only where they live.

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More money still needed to tackle COVID-19 impact, says council leader

Lincoln County Council is still calling for more funding and powers to help tackle the impact of coronavirus on the “vulnerable” rural economy.

Leader Councillor Martin Hill said in a video statement on Friday that further measures would help the authority determine “what is best for our county”.

“This would mean we could help to provide what businesses and workers need for secure and high quality employment.”

Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership this week received nearly £26 million for “shovel ready” projects including the Centre for Innovation in Rural Health, the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone and the creation of new cycle links across the region.

“Research […] shows that county areas are more vulnerable to the economic effects of COVID-19,” said Councillor Hill.

“This is because of our higher proportion of staff working in sectors such as tourism, food services, manufacturing, construction and retail.

“In Lincolnshire we are working on an economic recovery plan and we’ve put considerable focus on trying to address this.”

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Lincolnshire COVID-19 cases rise by 34 this week, four deaths

There have been 34 confirmed coronavirus cases and four deaths in Greater Lincolnshire this week.

However, hospitals have not seen any new COVID-19 deaths in nine days.

The latest government figures released today show seven new cases for Friday, with six in Lincolnshire and one in North Lincolnshire.

It means the the total number of confirmed cases in Lincolnshire is 3,515.

The figures also included COVID-19 related deaths for two more people living in Lincolnshire taking the total for deaths both in and out of the region’s hospitals to 465.

• 2,558 in Lincolnshire (up from 2,552)
• 739 in North Lincolnshire (up from 738)
• 218 in North East Lincolnshire (no change)

Taking into account the eight deaths over the weekend, it means there have been 42 cases in the region so far in August, including 37 in Lincolnshire, four in North Lincolnshire, and one in North East Lincolnshire.

The latest NHS figures showed no new COVID-19 related deaths at any of the region’s hospitals for the ninth day in a row.

The latest breakdown remains at:

• 143 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust
• 4 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust
• 118 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG)

However, government figures earlier this week added two further deaths to the tally of those who live in Lincolnshire, bringing the total across the region including North and North East Lincolnshire to 465.

They total:

• 323 from Lincolnshire (up from 321)
• 106 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
• 36 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

Nationally, the number of cases increased by 871 to 809,005, while deaths in the UK rose by 98 to 46,511.