Around 20,000 people have had a rapid Covid test at sites in Lincolnshire since they were introduced at the start of the year, it's been revealed.

A total of 1.47% of those tests at sites in Boston and Lincoln (pictured) have picked up Covid cases which would have otherwise gone undetected.

Public Health Lincolnshire says that's around 300 people who could have otherwise gone on to infect other people.

Andy Fox, assistant director for public health in Lincolnshire, says: "That represents a success, definitely.

"That is a significant number where we have found some cases that otherwise wouldn't be picked up, and we have broken those chains of transmission."

Some rapid testing sites in Boston are to move in the coming week, but Public Health Lincolnshire says there should be testing across the county until after June.

BBC radio presenter Jo Whiley should be made a Dame after her campaign to get people with learning disabilities the Covid vaccine, a Lincolnshire woman has said.

Lynn Bannister, from Market Rasen, who has learning disabilities herself, says she is "really pleased" at news people on the learning disability register should be bumped up the vaccine queue.

People with a "severe or profound" learning disability in England and Wales were already in priority groups for the jab.

But now everyone on their GP's learning disability register will be invited for vaccination regardless of how severe their disability is, Public Health England has confirmed.

Ms Bannister described this as "the cherry on the cake" following a campaign by Jo Whiley, whose sister has a learning disability and diabetes.

Ms Bannister has been self-isolating with her father in Market Rasen for the last year, but the increased chance of a vaccine means she may soon be able to return to living independently.

She says she's going to call BBC Radio 2 about Jo Whiley's campaign and "get her made a Dame" and is calling for people across Lincolnshire to support the idea.

BBC Weather

Any light rain around initially this morning will soon clear.

Cloud will then gradually clear to the southeast this afternoon, to give some brightness before sunset.

Still mild for the time of year.

Dry and mostly clear tonight, allowing temperatures to drop away, making it much less mild compared to recent nights.

Staying dry and clear through till morning:

Two cannabis grows have been found in North East Lincolnshire, police have said.

Image source, Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

A "sophisticated" set-up with about 200 plants was found in the attic of a property on Poplar Road in Cleethorpes at about 17:00 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a grow of about 1,200 seedling plants was found inside a property on Church Street in Grimsby later that same day, police say.

Inquiries are ongoing to find out who is responsible for the grows, officers add.

Both had been "dangerously" extracting electricity and putting local residents at risk of harm.

Anyone with information about the two grows is being asked to contact the Humberside force.

BBC Weather

It'll be dry and fine in Lincolnshire today, with patchy cloud and spells of hazy sunshine.

Exceptionally mild, with temperatures reaching into the mid-teens. A moderate southerly breeze.

This evening will be dry and mild.

Overnight, cloud will build in, bringing a few spots of light rain or drizzle. Winds easing:

People in Lincolnshire will soon be able to take their rubbish to a local recycling centre any day they like as coronavirus restrictions are eased, it's been confirmed.

At the moment, people can only take certain items on certain days, but restrictions will lift on 8 March, according to Lincolnshire County Council:

Councillor Eddy Poll, who is in charge of all the sites in Lincolnshire, says people must still remember to wear a face covering on site and respect social-distancing.

He also emphasises booking will be essential at all the county's recycling sites - and that system is "here to stay".

"It does a grand job keeping everybody safe on the site, but even without the public health considerations, the booking system is a far superior way of managing people's movements and people's safety whether there's a pandemic or not," says Mr Poll.

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It's going to be a dry and mild night in Lincolnshire.

Here's the latest forecast:

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Business bosses in Lincolnshire say jobs still hang “by a thread” in the county due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns, however they say there is “some light at the end of a very dark tunnel”.

Image source, Google

In December, research suggested 218 businesses in Lincoln were at immediate risk of failing as they run out of cash.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is due to announce details of his spring budget next week, where he is expected to extend the furlough scheme until at least May.

That follows the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday focusing on the way out of the coronavirus lockdown.

Simon Beardsley, chief executive of Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Even with the new roadmap, the future of thousands of firms and millions of jobs still hangs by a thread.

"Many hard-hit businesses simply don’t have the cash reserves needed to hold out several more months before they are allowed to reopen.

“We will continue to lobby to see that all the key support schemes for business should be extended – through the summer and wherever possible throughout 2021 – to ensure that as many viable organisations as possible can make it to the end of this pandemic and on the road to recovery," he added.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Lincolnshire health bosses say they're "very optimistic" coronavirus lockdown restrictions will be eased on time, as outlined by the prime minister on Monday - but they warn “this isn’t over yet”.

Boris Johnson announced his roadmap out of the third lockdown yesterday, which will start with schools opening on 8 March and non-essential shops open by 12 April.

Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director of public health Andy Fox praised the government’s planned five-week gap between each eased restriction as "intelligent".

However, Mr Fox added: “This isn’t over yet. It’s great we’ve got a roadmap for getting out of lockdown, but we still have to make sure that at every stage we are following the lockdown restrictions.”

East Lindsey currently has the lowest Covid-19 infection rate in Greater Lincolnshire, with 49.4 cases per 100,000 people.

Over 7,000 Covid tests were carried out in the district in the last seven days, the second highest number of tests in Lincolnshire before North Kesteven, which carried out 8,000 in the last week.

Mr Fox put this down to a “couple of factors”.

He said: "One is that they have an ageing population, compared to other areas in Lincolnshire. We think those people are often very willing to just stay at home and to follow the lockdown measures.

"But more importantly, you might just be starting to see the impact of vaccination coverage."

BBC Weather

Staying dry throughout the day today, with mostly cloudy skies, although there may be some sunny spells this morning.

The winds will also be quite breezy at times.

It will continue to remain dry through this evening and tonight, with cloudy skies.

The winds will also remain blustery, but it will be a mild night:

Special constables in Lincolnshire are to get a reduction in their council tax bill, it's been confirmed.

A total of 132 special constable will get a discount of 25%.

Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Marc Jones, has described the move as a "small thank you".

He added it was an incentive to recruit more to the volunteer roles.

It will be a dry night in Lincolnshire.

Here's the latest forecast:

Weather: weather_eastyorkshire.avi

BBC Weather

Overcast at first today with some spells of rain edging east and clearing.

In the afternoon, it will brighten up with spells of sunshine breaking through.

Gentle to moderate south-westerly winds.

The evening will be dry with long clear spells.

Turning chilly. Into the night, southerly winds will become moderate and cloud will tend to increase from the west, although it will remain dry:

Breaking news, sport, travel and weather updates from across Lincolnshire.

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