Covid: Lincoln rate highest in England as outbreak linked to club

A Covid-19 infection spike in Lincoln has been pinpointed to a nightclub in the city, health bosses have said.

New cases increased by 83% to 649 in the week to 29 July, giving the area England's highest infection rate of 654 per 100,000 people.

The Wharf and University district, a popular destination for bars, clubs and restaurants, recorded a rate of 1,140.

Natalie Liddle, from Public Health Lincolnshire, said the majority of cases were in people aged under 30.

"We are currently managing a cluster of outbreaks in and around Lincoln - and we've seen a particular increase in cases linked to the night-time economy," she said.

"We are particularly dealing with one large outbreak at the moment, [and] that has impacted a large number of people."

Ms Liddle declined to name the venue involved.

Ms Liddle, who is programme manager for infection prevention and control, said the outbreak had also coincided with a "natural spike" in case numbers, with Lincoln continuing to follow slightly behind the national trend in terms of peaks.

"Unfortunately for us, it's coincided with us coming out of lockdown," she said.

She urged anyone who had not taken up an offer of a jab to do so, adding that it was more important than ever, especially as there were now no rules regarding social distancing, testing or vaccination status for nightclubs.

"We don't want to scaremonger but, for us, the biggest thing we can do right now is really amplify that message about the importance of the vaccine programme," she added.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last month that people attending nightclubs and other large venues where crowds gather would be required to be fully vaccinated from the end of September.

Meanwhile, cases in most other parts of the county have fallen.

North East Lincolnshire has seen one of the sharpest drops with case rates decreasing by nearly 50% in the week to 29 July.

The area recorded a rate of 471 new infections per 100,000 people compared to 805 in the preceding seven days.

The England average currently stands at 292.

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