December 30, 2020 5.55 pm This story is over 39 months old

Tier 4 for Lincolnshire after 281 COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths on Wednesday

Despite infection rates falling across the county
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Lincolnshire will move to tier 4 lockdown from December 31, but North and North East Lincolnshire will stay in tier 3, as 281 new coronavirus cases and 28 COVID-related deaths were recorded in our region on Wednesday.

The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 208 new cases in Lincolnshire, 40 in North Lincolnshire and 33 in North East Lincolnshire. North East Lincolnshire has now surpassed 6,000 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Some 20 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, six in North Lincolnshire and two in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county. Lincolnshire deaths have surpassed 1,000 since the pandemic began.

NHS England reported 11 new local hospital deaths on Wednesday, including six at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and five at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust (ULHT).

ULHT has now hit the grim milestone of 500 deaths since the pandemic started.

On Wednesday, national cases increased by 50,023 to 2,432,888, while deaths rose by 981 to 72,548.

Lincolnshire and all neighbouring counties will move to tier 4 following Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s announcement in the House of Commons on Wednesday, but North and North East Lincolnshire will remain in tier 3.

Greater Lincolnshire has seen a fall in infection rates across all districts with South Kesteven overtaking Boston as the second highest infection rate in the county after Lincoln.

Lincolnshire remains below the national average despite new tier 4 restrictions.

In Wednesday’s Downing Street Press Briefing, Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England said: “COVID loves a crowd, so please leave the parties for later in the year.”

The PM said “the tunnel has been shortened” to reaching the end of the pandemic but “we must take firm action now”.

The majority of primary schools will open as planned on January 4, but there will be a one week delay and then a staggered return for secondary school age pupils and those in colleges.

With 2020 nearly being over, the pandemic has been a tumultuous time for all of us – here’s how Lincolnshire has coped with COVID.

Boston-born, Jonathan Van Tam, England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer has been named The Lincolnite’s person of the year and here’s why.

In national news, the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved by the UK medicines regulator, raising the hopes of a rapid scale-up of vaccination against COVID-19 within days.

The second dose of the coronavirus vaccines will now be given later than originally planned, so that more people can be given the first dose, experts have said.

Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate up to December 30, according to the government’s dashboard:

Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate from Dec 23 to Dec 30. Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire for Wednesday, December 30

Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East Lincolnshire.

36,993 cases (up 281)

  • 24,936 in Lincolnshire (up 208)
  • 6,054 in North Lincolnshire (up 40)
  • 6,003 in North East Lincolnshire (up 33)

1,427 deaths (up 28)

  • 1,003 from Lincolnshire (up 20)
  • 219 from North Lincolnshire (up six)
  • 205 from North East Lincolnshire (up two)

of which 849 hospital deaths (up 11)

  • 500 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up five)
  • 22 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
  • 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
  • 326 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up six)

2,432,888 UK cases, 72,548 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.