As Covid cases warning over

Aspike in coronavirus cases across Kent is expected to rise further following the return of children to school, the county’s public health director has warned. Latest figures show positive tests across the county have risen to their highest level for two months, with 175 new cases recorded in the week up to September 10 - more than double the 85 seen in the same week last month.

It marks the sharpest rise in Kent since the start of the pandemic, but the rate of new infections is still 65% lower than across England as a whole.

However, Kent County Council’s director of public health, Andrew Scott-clark, says he expects there to be more new cases now children are back in the classroom. He was speaking after a number of schools in Kent were forced to tell pupils to self-isolate amid a series of

positive tests.

Mr Scott-clark said: “We are seeing a rise in cases locally and nationally, and although Kent is below the England average, we clearly need to keep reminding residents how important it is that they play their part to help protect themselves and others, particularly the most vulnerable members of the community who are most at risk from severe symptoms. “It is expected that we will see more cases now children have returned to school and people go back to workplaces, but more importantly we are working with our partners across Kent, including Public Health England and the NHS, to monitor where cases are occurring and whether there are larger widespread community outbreaks.” Mr Scott-clark added that more testing is being carried out across the county, although a regional breakdown of the numbers is not published by Public Health England.

The authority does, however, provide daily figures for the number of positive tests recorded in Kent and its districts.

On Sunday, September 6, there were 43 new cases - the highest daily figure for more than 12 weeks.

Swale has seen the biggest spike in positive tests and currently has the highest infection rate in the county. In the week to September 10 there were 33 new cases in the borough, compared to one in

the week up to August 10. Swale Borough Council leader Roger Truelove said last Thursday that the number of new cases was still “relatively low”, but urged people not to be complacent. Significant spikes have also been seen in other areas, including Medway, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks.

While new cases across the county are rising, they are still well below those seen at the peak of the pandemic, when 209 people tested positive in a single day on April 17.

At that time, testing was largely limited to those presenting to hospitals with serious symptoms.

On April 20, 534 hospital beds in Kent were occupied by coronavirus patients. By September 3 this number had fallen to 12. Across the same period, the number of coronavirus patients requiring a ventilator fell from 86 to one. Hospital deaths have also fallen significantly across Kent, from 187 in the week up to April 12, to two in the whole of September to date. It remains to be seen if the recent spike in Covid19 cases will spark a rise in hospitalisations in the coming weeks.

A spokesman for the Kent and Medway CCG - which commissions health services across the region - says the NHS is preparing for a “potential increase”. “The NHS across Kent and Medway is planning for the seasonal increase in demand for our services, as well as a potential increase in the number of coronavirus patients,” he said.

“We are not currently seeing an increase in admissions to hospital from coronavirus.”

While the spike in Kent is cause for some concern, the county’s infection rate remains much lower than across England as a whole. On September 10, there were 9.6 weekly cases per 100,000 in Kent, compared to 26.3 nationally. These rates were 3.6 and 9.6 respectively on August 18, ahead of the increase in positive tests. The spike across England has led to new restrictions being introduced by the Government this week. With limited exceptions, it is now illegal to gather in groups of more than six indoors or outside. What do you think? Email letters@thekmgroup. co.uk

KCC’S director of public health, Andrew Scott-clark