Greater Lincolnshire
December 18, 2020 5.41 pm

Tier 3 Greater Lincolnshire: 1,696 COVID-19 cases, 92 deaths this week

Lincoln and Boston have highest Midlands infection rates
By Local Democracy Reporter
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

There have been 1,696 new coronavirus cases and 92 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire this week.

This comes as 345 cases and 13 deaths were reported in Greater Lincolnshire on Friday.

The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 297 new cases in Lincolnshire, 28 in North Lincolnshire and 20 in North East Lincolnshire.

On Friday, 12 deaths were registered in 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 seven new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust and one at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust. Some 49 hospital deaths have been recorded this week.

On Friday, national cases increased by 28,507 to 1,977,167, while deaths rose by 489 to 66,541.

This week, Lincolnshire was told it will remain under the tier 3 toughest coronavirus restrictions by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Most Lincolnshire NHS staff will not receive the COVID-19 vaccine until the end of March 2021, according to hospital bosses.

A new drive-through coronavirus testing centre was opened in Stamford on Wednesday and sites opening in Lincoln and Boston as the two areas have the highest infection rates in the East Midlands.

Two community vaccination centres have opened in Louth and Grantham besides the Lincoln and Boston hospitals.

A new variant of coronavirus has also been confirmed in the UK, with more than 1,000 cases across 60 local authorities.

On Friday, Lincolnshire health bosses said we are having a “bleak midwinter” with 94 of Lincolnshire’s 651 deaths – nearly 15% – mentioning COVID-19 on the death certificate in the last seven days.

Scientists at Imperial College London have predicted that Boston, Lincoln and West Lindsey are highly likely to have an infection rate of more than 300 cases each per week by January 1, 2021.

Hospitals in Grimsby and Scunthorpe have been picked to offer specialist support to patients suffering with long term symptoms of COVID-19.

Due to the lockdown, 218 businesses in Lincoln are at immediate risk of failing as they run out of cash, according to new research.

In national news, the UK’s R (infection) number has risen between 1.1 to 1.2, according to SAGE experts. This means that for every 10 people with coronavirus, they will infect between 11 and 12 others. Just last week, the R number was between 0.9 and 1.

Tough coronavirus restrictions are expected to be in place across the majority of the UK until at least February 2021 according to health experts. They have warned of a “harsh” two to three months ahead.

Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate up to December 18:

Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate from Dec 11 to Dec 18. | Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire for Friday, December 18

32,780 cases (up 345)

  • 21,557 in Lincolnshire (up 297)
  • 5,515 in North Lincolnshire (up 28)
  • 5,708 in North East Lincolnshire (up 20)

1,241 deaths (up 13)

  • 854 from Lincolnshire (up 12)
  • 199 from North Lincolnshire (up one)
  • 188 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

of which 745 hospital deaths (up eight)

  • 426 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up seven)
  • 17 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
  • 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
  • 301 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up one)

1,977,167 UK cases, 66,541 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.

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