Covid cases continue to fall in Kent – but one area of the county has recorded the highest infection rate in England.
According to figures released yesterday, Eythorne and Shepherdswell in the Dover district have a rate of 996.4 cases per 100,000 people, more than three times the national average.
The region recorded 67 new cases in the seven days to Easter Sunday (April 17), an increase of 55.8%. Its case rate is the second highest in the UK after Na h-Eileanan Siar in the Outer Hebrides, at 1,377.4 per 100,000.
The average infection rate over the same period in the UK is 283.8 per 100,000, with Kent’s rate slightly lower than the national average at 265.3.
The latest figures show that in the week to April 17, 4,216 new cases were recorded in the county, down 2,789 from the previous week and down 39.8%.
Cases have also dropped significantly in all districts of Kent.
Dover has the highest case rate at 328.2, still down from 32.2%; the infection rate figure for other county districts is well below 300.
Despite steep declines in the number of cases in Kent and across the country since free testing ended earlier this month, calls were made earlier this week to encourage more people to socially distance and wear protective clothing. face masks. It comes as the number of Covid patients in Kent hospitals has more than doubled in a month.
A senior NHS official has said ‘reasonable precautions’ are needed to reduce pressure on the health service.
Many health trusts are also being hit hard by staff absences, largely due to Covid.
Earlier this month, a Kent woman with coronavirus told how she was among patients given a new anti-Covid drug at home.
The antiviral treatment which reduces the risk of serious illness has been provided to more than 32,000 patients since it was introduced for out-of-hospital patients in December.
Helen West, 56, from Walderslade, Chatham, said the drug Paxlovid had made “a positive difference in my recovery”.