Highest death toll recorded last month

A third of all Covid-19 deaths in Kent were recorded last month, despite cases dropping to their lowest point since November 13.

During the peak of the first wave in April, 617 people died with Covid-19 - less than half of January’s total.

The lowest recorded death toll was in September, when three people lost their lives to the virus, after which deaths began to rise again.

In the two months between the end of November and the end of January, deaths have risen 272% - more than tripling.

These deaths are the aftermath of the winter rise which peaked at 17,004 weekly cases on January 4 just as the current lockdown began.

Cases have significantly dropped since, with Kent and Medway recording a total of 4,971 cases on the week ending January 27 compared to 7,937 the week before.

This is a weekly drop of 37.4% and has left the infection rate per 100,000 people at 267.3.

The last time cases were this low was on November 13 when cases totalled 5,190 as they began to rise on the run up to Christmas.

The number of coronavirus patients in Kent hospitals has also fallen to its lowest level in five weeks, dropping just below 1,000 last week.

However, just as the cases are dropping the threat of a new variant of the virus seems to be emerging in the county.

Door-to-door testing began in some areas of Maidstone on Tuesday after a resident tested positive for the South African variant of the virus despite having no connection to visiting the country.

It is believed this variant spreads faster than previous strains of Covid-19.

A third of Kent Covid deaths were recorded in January