Infection rates in Kent look set to reach a pandemic high after new case numbers hit record levels four days after Christmas.

Positive tests had fallen week-on-week over the festive period, giving hope that the county had turned a corner in the fight against the virus.

But latest figures indicate the drop in rates was largely due to a huge fall in the number of people getting tested over the holidays.

After a short period of lower case numbers, there were 3,689 positive tests across Kent and Medway on December 29 - almost 1,000 more than on any other day since the pandemic struck.

Early figures for the days that followed - including at least 2,799 cases on December 30 - indicate that positive tests remained high, putting the county on course to hit record infection rate levels, which are calculated using weekly totals.

While people ignoring the ban on household mixing over Christmas could be seen as a factor, more so is the likelihood that many put off being tested until after the festive period.

In the week up to December 22 there were 121,668 tests carried out across the county, but this number fell by 47% to 78,338 over the following week.

While low case numbers over Christmas gave the impression rates were on a downward trend, high case numbers in the week after could artificially inflate the rates, with so many people having seemingly chosen to delay being tested.

Worryingly, while test numbers dropped, the number returning a positive result rose from 14% to 21% in Kent, and from 23% to 30% in Medway.

Dartford now has Kent's highest rate - at 1,100 weekly cases per 100,000 people - with neighbouring Gravesham a close second.

The figures were published ahead of many primary schools in Kent reopening today for the first time after Christmas.

The Government said pupils should return to class in four areas of the county, although many schools have defied the advice and stayed shut.

Some are in Folkestone and Hythe, which now has a higher infection rate than Sevenoaks, Swale and Tunbridge Wells, where schools have been told to remain shut.

In areas where schools have opened, attendance is reported to have been as low as 52% - a number confirmed by Reculver Primary School in Herne Bay.

The decision is expected to be reviewed this week, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock insists it is safe for primary schools to reopen in all but the worst-hit areas of England following the Christmas break.

He says teachers are at no greater risk of contracting the disease than the rest of the population.

“There is clear public health advice behind the position that we have taken and that is what people should follow because, of course, education is very important as well, especially for people’s long-term health,” he told Sky News.

Also a concern is the huge pressure on Kent’s hospitals, which are said to be “overwhelmed” by Covid-19 patients.

Figures show that on December 30 there were 1,244 people with the virus in the county’s hospitals - compared to 491 at the peak of the first wave in April.

Critical care beds are at capacity in some hospitals, with patients being transferred from Kent to locations including Devon, Bristol and Leeds.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today warned of “tough, tough” weeks to come as the Government faces pressure to impose another national lockdown.

Commenting on hospital pressures, he said: “If you look at the numbers there’s no question we will have to take tougher measures and we will be announcing those in due course.”

Mr Johnson was speaking as the national rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine began today.

The Government hopes to get the virus under control while vaccinating as many people as possible in the hope that things will appear brighter in spring.

Ministers have said the NHS has the capacity to deliver two million doses a week of the Oxford vaccine once it receives supplies from the manufacturers.

Mr Johnson said: “We have the capacity, the issue is to do with supply of the vaccine.

“It’s not so much a manufacturing issue although that’s part of it.

“Each batch needs to be properly approved and quality controlled.”

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