There have been 289 new coronavirus cases and 20 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Wednesday.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 233 new cases in Lincolnshire, 32 in North Lincolnshire and 24 in North East Lincolnshire.
On Wednesday, 18 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and two 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 15 new local hospital deaths on Wednesday, including nine at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and six at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG).
On Wednesday, national cases increased by 25,308 to 3,715,054, while deaths rose by 1,725 to 101,887.
The Prime Minister has said “itwillnotbepossibletoreopenschools” after the Februaryhalfterm, with the hope to bring pupils back from March 8.
Boris Johnson also told MPs that UK nationals and residents returning from “red list” countries will be placed in a 10-day quarantine in government-secured accommodation, such as hotels.
The 22 “red list” countries where there is a risk of known variants include South Africa, Portugal and South American nations.
In the House of Commons on Wednesday, the MP for Cleethorpes, Martin Vickers praised travel quarantine proposals but raised concerns of the “element of contact between” those in hotels “however well-policed it is”.
He urged the home secretary to give “assurance that there will be appropriate measures in place to limit mixing to the absolute minimum.”
Priti Patel responded: “We are working quickly across government right now with the industry, with partners and organisations within the sector to bring these new measures and work on the hotel package.”
Further details of this will be put out in due course, according to the home secretary.
In Lincolnshire, bin collections in Boston and in parts of East Lindsey will be suspended for the rest of the week due to COVID-related staff absences.
The collections will be suspended from Wednesday, January 27 as a number of East Lindsey District Council’s and Boston Borough Council’s waste crews either have coronavirus or are self-isolating.
Nationally, “a legacy of poor decisions” by the UK before and during the pandemic led to one of the worst death rates in the world, scientists have said.
Professor Linda Bauld, public health expert from the University of Edinburgh, said the UK’s current position was “a legacy of poor decisions that were taken when we eased restrictions”.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the condition was “significantly less common” in patients who tested positive for the new variant compared to those with other variants of COVID-19.
Greater Lincolnshire has seen a fall in its infection rates once again with only slight increases in the districts of Boston and North Lincolnshire.
This mirrors the national average infection rate also decreasing on Wednesday.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate over the last seven days up to January 27, according to the government dashboard:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Jan 20 to Jan 27. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Wednesday, January 27
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
46,917 cases (up 289)
32,844 in Lincolnshire (up 233)
7,204 in North Lincolnshire (up 32)
6,869 in North East Lincolnshire (up 24)
1,822 deaths (up 20)
1,311 from Lincolnshire (up 18)
278 from North Lincolnshire (up two)
233 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,086 hospital deaths (up 15)
667 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up nine)
33 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
385 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up six)
3,715,054 UK cases, 101,887 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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Councils in Lincolnshire are looking to set up a crowdfunding scheme to help raise money for local projects and community-based initiatives.
Boston Borough, East Lindsey and South Holland District Council, as the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, will invest an initial combined £34,000 into setting up the scheme with Spacehive.
If approved Boston and ELDC would contribute a further £30,000 to match-fund healthy community-based projects in their respective district. It is not yet clear if SHDC would do the same.
Boston’s cabinet and ELDC’s executive board will both discuss the plans at meetings next week, while SHDC’s own cabinet will vote later this month.
Reports before ELDC and Boston said: “Civic crowdfunding is becoming increasing popular due the numerous economic and social benefits it can deliver.
“Many local authorities across England have successfully used crowdfunding platforms to engage with local residents and businesses to develop projects and seek financial support group on-line pledges to match local authority contributions.”
They said crowdfunding in other areas showed a 250-300% return on investment for the community.
As part of the initiative the partnership would set up a Spacehive page later this year listing what funds are available and how much they are willing to match-fund.
Those organising community-based initiatives and proposals would set up their own project pages separately, including a breakdown of their budgets and targets.
Spacehive would verify the bids to ensure clear budgets and permissions are in place.
The projects could then pitch to the council, and other organisations such as the National Lottery, through the site. Projects can also be backed by general members of the public.
Authorities will monitor the project’s progress before making a decision.
More than 40 local authorities use Spacehive, including Cotswolds District Council.
A recently-100% funded project included a £21,997 amphitheatre in Chipping Campden, which the council gave £10,000.
Lincoln’s pre-fab housing which has stood since the Second World War should be pulled down when the opportunity arises, a councillor has said.
Roughly 100 homes from the 1940s are still standing around the Outer Circle Drive area.
They were built to last around 20 years during the post-war housing shortage using pre-fabricated steel.
The planning committee voted this week to demolish one which had become “unfit for habitation”, and Councillor Edmund Strengiel called for others to follow when possible.
“It’s long overdue for prefab houses to be knocked down. These houses should only have lasted 20 years, although some may still be comfortable and liveable,” he told the meeting.
One pre-fab is deemed to be ‘unfit for habitation’ | Image: City of Lincoln Council
“In my hometown, many of these were demolished in the 1970s, and something much better was put in their place. We could have lovely bungalows here.”
He added: “I have no doubt people still want to live in them, and I’m not suggesting that anyone should be forced to move out if they don’t want to.
“To be fair to the council, money isn’t readily available. It would probably be a case of taking them down and replacing them one by one.
“But if the funds are there and the residents are happy, it is time for the council’s housing team to make that decision.”
Around 157,000 homes were constructed around the country after the war, although not many are still standing.
There are around 100 pre-fabs from the 1940s around Outer Circle Drive in Lincoln | Photo: City of Lincoln Council
The bungalow on Outer Circle Drive had fallen into disrepair after the tenant refused improvement works on several occasions.
It was declared void in March 2020 following a survey.