TURNING A CORNER?

■ Hopeful signs in Ashford’s battle with coronavirus ■ Number of new cases shows second sharpest fall in Kent ■ Infection rate drops below national average ■ New vaccine centre a ‘massive benefit’ to town

The fight against coronavirus has shown hopeful signs in Ashford this week, as the number of new cases continues to fall.

The borough saw the second sharpest decline in new cases of Covid-19 in Kent, while its infection rate fell below the national average for the first time in months.

Government figures released on Monday showed that the number of new cases in Ashford fell by 27.9% over the seven days to January 20.

Compared to all the other districts in Kent, only Maidstone saw a greater percentage fall, at 29%.

The average fall in new cases across the county was recorded at 22.3%.

Ashford saw 528 new cases over the same period. Of Kent’s 13 districts, only four saw a higher number.

The borough’s rolling infection rate of 406.1 cases per 100,000 of the population is also now below the averages for both Kent, at 419.1 and England at 420.7. Canterbury has the lowest rate in the county at 329.5, a fall of 28.7%.

Sadly, the number of people in the borough to have died after contracting coronavirus stands at 277.

A new mass vaccination centre for Kent opened in the former Debenhams store, in Sandgate Road, Folkestone, this week.

‘Vaccination pods’ can be seen set up inside the former department store, where around 3,000 people a day could receive the vaccine.

The centre is being run by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT), which has enlisted an army of vaccinators and support staff to deliver the jabs.

The trust says the site will increase the number of vaccinations it delivers in the weeks ahead and will operate from 8am until 8pm, seven-days-a-week.

KCHFT chief executive Paul Bentley said: “Our staff are doing an incredible job to deliver vaccinations at the same time as continuing to be there for anyone who needs our care.

“This really is partnership work at its finest. We are supported by colleagues from across the healthcare system and thanks to our volunteers, local councils and some of our emergency services’ colleagues, we can now roll out the vaccine to protect the communities we care for.”

People being invited to have a jab there need to live within a 45-minute car journey.

Those who book in to a vaccine centre will receive a pre-vaccination assessment before they receive their injection.

Appointments are staggered to allow for social distancing and people are urged not to turn up early to avoid queues.

The government map shows the Covid case rates for Ashford in the seven days up to January 20

A woman receives her jab at Kent’s first mass vaccination centre, which is set to benefit Ashford residents