More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Doubt has been cast on the final lifting of lockdown restrictions as Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions edge upwards in Kent and Medway.
The Prime Minister had hoped to scrap all social distancing measures on June 21, but the spread of the so-called Indian variant means the decision is now far from clear-cut.
Hospital admissions across the county remain low, but government data shows that in the seven days from May 18 to May 25 the number of coronavirus patients in the county's hospitals increased slightly from five to eight.
None of those patients are said to require ventilation - necessary only in the most serious cases of the disease.
Across Kent there are now 11.9 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people, while in Medway the case rate is slightly lower at 10.4. Both are, however, up on the previous week.
Cases of the Indian variant have doubled in a week nationally, and it is now understood to be the dominant strain circulating in the UK, overtaking the Kent strain of the virus.
Boris Johnson warned that freedom from restrictions on June 21 may have to wait as it emerged three-quarters of new cases are now the Indian mutation.
Epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson said the planned unlocking next month now "hangs in the balance" due to the growth of the variant of concern.
The PM told reporters on yesterday he "didn't see anything currently in the data" to divert from next month's target of total lifting of restrictions, but he did warn: "We may need to wait."
Public Health England (PHE) put the hospital admission rate for Covid-19 at 0.79 per 100,000 people in the week to May 23, compared to 0.75 per 100,000 in the previous week.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at PHE, said that, while Covid infection rates had risen across most age groups and regions, "encouragingly the number in hospitals across the country remains low".
In England, 6,180 cases of the Indian variant have been confirmed, along with 702 in Scotland, 58 in Wales and 19 in Northern Ireland.
Rates of Covid-19 infection in Kent vary, with a low of 3.5 per 100,000 in Folkestone and Hythe, and a high of 35.1 in Canterbury. The average for England is 23.5.
