COVID cases in Lincolnshire double again week-on-week

Coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire have almost doubled so far this week, as government ministers reel from the latest scandal involving the health secretary.

The latest figures show there have been 778 coronavirus cases so far this week while deaths have increased by one — a cases increase of 84% compared to the 422 cases last week, and three fewer deaths.

COVID rates are now spiking in the young population in Lincolnshire, as health bosses plea with people to take advantage of a big vaccine push this month.

Lincolnshire’s director of public health Professor Derek Ward said infection rates among the 20-24-year-olds had risen from around 25-26 per 100,000 population at the beginning of June to a current figure of 260.

The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 85 new cases in Lincolnshire, 75 in North East Lincolnshire and 17 in North Lincolnshire.

There were no deaths reported in government figures, however this week has seen one death recorded.

NHS England reported no local hospital deaths in Greater Lincolnshire’s four health trusts on Friday, but have confirmed one so far this week.

On Friday, national COVID cases increased by 15,810 to 4,699,868 while deaths rose by 18 to 128,066.

Lincolnshire’s coronavirus cases up to June 25.

Professor Ward also said an anti-vaxxer chasing Boston-born Professor Jonathan Van-Tam was “abhorrent” and “shouldn’t happen full stop.” He said no-one should be “harangued” for doing their job.

Professor Van Tam, who is England’s deputy chief medical officer, was chased on video by Geza Tarjanyi, while entering the Ministry of Defence building on Tuesday.

National news organisations have, on Friday, been focussed on an affair between Health Secretary Matt Hancock and his aide Gina Coladengelo.

A CCTV photo published by The Sun and showing the pair kissing was taken on May 6, when England was still under Stage 2 of COVID restrictions and prohibited gatherings of two or more people indoors.

Mr Hancock has apologised and said he had “let people down” by breaking social distancing guidelines he himself had approved.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted the apology and said he “considers the matter closed”.

However, opposition parties are calling for Mr Hancock to step down – calling his position “hopelessly untenable” and saying his actions were “a blatant abuse of power and a clear conflict of interest”.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Elsewhere, England’s R number has stayed the same at between 1.2 and 1.4, in the latest data published by the scientific advisory panel SAGE.

The UK has seen a 46% rise in cases of Delta variant in the week up to June 21, Public Health England has said.

The Office for National Statistics has also noted cases in general have risen to their highest level since early April, with an estimated 153,000 people having COVID in the week up to June 13, 30% more than the week before.

Nearly 97% of positive cases tested for the virus in Lincolnshire have been the Delta variant.

The Events Research Programme has reported back on its first nine indoor and outdoor event trials across the county and found “no substantial outbreaks” of COVID-19 because of them.

Just 28 cases of COVID-19 were reported during the events which included the Brit Awards ceremony, the FA Cup Final and the World Snooker Championship.

A further variant, known as Lambda, has been designated as a variant under investigation (VUI) by Public Health England.

So far, six cases of Lambda have been identified in the UK – all linked to overseas travel.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, June 25

62,552 cases (up 177)

• 43,072 in Lincolnshire (up 85)
• 9,954 in North Lincolnshire (up 17)
• 9,526 in North East Lincolnshire (up 75)

2,195 deaths (no change)

• 1,622 from Lincolnshire (no change)
• 302 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
• 271 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

of which 1,313 hospital deaths (no change)

• 816 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
• 42 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
• 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
• 454 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)

4,699,868 UK cases, 128,066 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.