Boroughs in Kent now have the highest rates of coronavirus infection in England.
According to the latest government figures, there were 631.7 cases per 100,000 people in Swale in the week to November 18 – more than solved, which was the most affected place in the country last week.
Considering the large number of Covid-19 cases in the formed swale comes as an emergency meeting Sheppi, Sittingborn And Favorsham, Is taking place but is being held in secret, with members of the public and the press not invited to hear the talks.
Swale Council convened a meeting Friday and invited senior representatives from partner agencies such as the Kent County Council (KCC), the Kent Police, the Department of Prison Service, Work and Pensions, and the local voluntary sector.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, which began at 12.30pm, the council’s leader, CLR Roger Trulov, said he had not yet been given the latest figures, but that it was possible given the borough was in second place.
When asked why he thinks Svalen has been hit so hard, Cellar Trulov said: “I think it’s very hard to say. People talk to us about the reasons. Less is more, we’ve got a much bigger number of care homes and we’ve got a lot more, in the community, in homes, obviously.
“People are saying it’s a children’s meeting outside of school and game dates and people aren’t socially apart.
“We don’t have a lot of people in Swale who work from home, so they’re probably working in settings where distance is difficult or not possible – there’s no definite answer.
“But, the fact is, we’ve got a real problem so we’re having a meeting today to see if we can get the message across to the people.”
“Until these figures come down we will suffer higher levels of sanctions than others this winter.”
With the national lockdown ending after December 2, the council will push for a district downdown or there will be a lot of discussion about whether Swale will be placed at the highest level.
But Cllr Truelove said the decision was not for local authorities.
“The decision will be based on the criteria the government is working on. They will do this in consultation with the KCC.
“It’s not for me or the council to say, we’re not public health officials. We’ll be told where we are and we won’t have much choice about it.
“But we’re sensitive to going to a higher level.”
“It could be Kent overall,” he added. “As far as the government is concerned, it is done by the public health authority and Kent is a public health officer.
“I think it should be Kent instead of just Swale. Although fewer cases have been reported in some places than ours, their rate is also increasing rapidly and I don’t think it’s easy for any one borough to follow. There are various restrictions on the door.
“You can’t stop migrating from different areas.
“It would be difficult to manage if we put different places in different restrictions.”
Regarding testing, CLR Trulove said: “I hope that in the very distant future, we will conduct mass testing to detect asymptomatic people who are spreading the disease, especially on Shappy Island – although this has not yet been confirmed.”
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