Covid cases in borough soar by more than 80%

Ashford now has third highest infection rate in Kent

Coronavirus cases in the borough continue to rise sharply, with Ashford now having the third highest infection rate in the county.

Latest figures show that in the seven days to December 17, 1,176 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Ashford, an increase of 82.6%.

The case rate now stands at 904.4 cases per 100,000 people.

This puts Ashford’s case rate as the third highest area in Kent, after Medway and Swale.

Ashford’s infection rate puts it well above both the Kent average of 704.8 and the England average of 304.2.

Data from the same period last week revealed that 646 people had tested positive for the virus in Ashford and the case rate was 496.8.

This means 530 more people tested positive in the last seven days recorded across the borough compared to the previous

week.

A map for Park Farm shows that in the seven days up to December 17, there were 149 cases in the area, up 93.5% from the previous seven day period.

It resulted in a rolling case rate of 1,199.2 per 100,000 people.

All figures were taken from the government’s website.

Cases are defined as total number of people with at least one positive Covid-19 test result, either lab-reported or lateral flow device.

The continued growth of the outbreak in Kent, and elsewhere in the south east, led the Government to introduce tougher Tier 4 restrictions at the weekend in a bid to slow the spread of a new strain of the virus.

Public Health England said that, as of December 13, 1,108 cases with this new variant had been identified, predominantly in the south and east of England.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said there is nothing to suggest this new strain is more likely to cause serious disease.

He also said the latest clinical advice is that it is highly unlikely that this mutation would fail to respond to a vaccine. This strain of Covid is 70% more infectious, the government believes.

Meanwhile, hundreds of new drive-through coronavirus testing slots have been made available in the county after appointments began running low on Monday - a day after the county was plunged into Tier 4.

But those without access to a car may struggle as many appointments are being offered out of the area.

A government map shows the areas of the borough with the highest case rates