December 21, 2021 11.02 am This story is over 27 months old

Infection rates in Lincolnshire soar as final leg to Christmas begins – but PM says no rule changes yet

Monday sees new record for cases in Greater Lincs
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Infection rates in Lincolnshire have spiked as the Prime Minister resists bringing in new restrictions to tackle Omicron.

There was a new record of 1,007 cases of coronavirus confirmed in the Greater Lincolnshire region on Monday night – up three from the previous record of 1,004 broken last Thursday.

However, despite extensive meetings with cabinet ministers yesterday Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there were no rule changes in sight… yet.

The latest COVID stats for Greater Lincolnshire are:

  • 1,007 new cases of coronavirus with 713 in Lincolnshire, 128 in North East Lincolnshire and 166 in North Lincolnshire
  • Two further deaths of Lincolnshire residents were recorded in the government figures
  • One further death of a patient at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust was also recorded
  • National cases also increased by 91,743, while deaths increased by 44

According to the latest government data, Greater Lincolnshire’s average infection rate for the past few days has risen along with the rest of the country. However, with England seeing an average of 736.4 per 100,000 population the region is currently behind the national rates with its own score of 567.5.

South Kesteven has seen the biggest jump, soaring from a rate of 536.9 on December 14 to 710.8 on December 20. It takes over from Boston as the highest infected district locally and sits 142nd highest.

In fact, all districts across Lincolnshire county have seen a rise in infection rates in general over the past few days. North and North East Lincolnshire, however, have seen decreases both in rates and in their position on the table.

In spite of the rising numbers, Lincolnshire appears to be doing better than the rest of the country in general. Over the course of the pandemic, the area has lagged behind other areas so could see a spike in the coming days which will catapult it up the charts.

So far though, only three authorities have moved up the national rankings of infection rates – South Kesteven, North Kesteven (which has gone from 196th to 176th) and South Holland (266th to 264th). The rest have been overtaken by other local authorities and moved down the boards from last week’s position.

Greater Lincolnshire’s latest infection rates up to December 20. | Data: gov.uk

Following lengthy cabinet meetings on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said no new measures were coming into force in England but ruled nothing out going forward.

During a pre-recorded interview after the meetings with ministers, he said the data was “under constant review” and acknowledge the situation – particularly for businesses were “extremely difficult”.

“Unfortunately, we will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public, public health and our NHS,” he said, telling reporters that arguments either way were “finely balanced”.

His comments have seen calls for clarity from hospitality and entertainment businesses who have been impacted hard by the latest variant. A number of shows have been postponed or suspended while restaurants and bars are seeing large numbers of cancellations.

Business leaders have called for the government to bring in more financial help to support them over the festive period – a usually busy time.

Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Monday, December 20

174,461 (up 1,007)

  • 117,676 in Lincolnshire (up 713)
  • 27,653 in North Lincolnshire (up 166)
  • 29,132 in North East Lincolnshire (up 128)

2,544 deaths (up two)

  • 1,859 from Lincolnshire (up two)
  • 342 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
  • 343 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)

of which 1,527 hospital deaths (up one)

  • 940 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up one)
  • 45 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
  • 1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
  • 540 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
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.