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A council boss has appealed to residents to continue their battle against coronavirus despite infection rates going down in his borough.
Roger Truelove, leader of Swale council, said: "I notice data suggests that Swale has the largest decline in infections across England at a time when, sadly, infection rates are rising generally.
"Most parts of Swale are experiencing a decline in infections, most significantly the Sheppey East ward which has been the target of too much media interest. This is a great relief.
"After weeks of our borough being singled out, not always in a sympathetic way, this is good news."
But he stressed: "Our infection rate is still high and the pressure on our health service is very serious. We will lose this gain if we start to relax. I am sure Swale people won't do that."
Swale no longer has the highest rate in England, mainly because other areas have overtaken it, but according to data from the seven days up to December 23 it still has a rolling rate of 710.9 which is 18% higher than when it first topped the Covid charts a month earlier on November 23 with 631.7.
The new figure, however, represents a 19.8% drop on the previous week.
The biggest fall has been 68.8% in the Sheppey East ward covering Leysdown and Eastchurch which was one of the original Covid hotspots. It now has a rate of 727.8 with no new cases reported but still 63 who have tested positive.
Queenborough (down 38.2%) and Minster North (29.5%) have also seen falls. But Sheerness East (nine new cases up 20%), Sheerness West (13 new cases up 33.3%) and Minster South (11 new cases up 13.9%) continue to rise. Sheppey had 336 confirmed cases up to December 23.
Only one area in Sittingbourne continues to rise and that is Iwade and Kemsley with 10 new cases. It is up 9.3% with a rate of 830.2.
The wards with the highest infection rates in Swale are now Borden and The Meads (920.7) and Sittingbourne South, Bapchild and Bredgar (930.4). They are unchanged. Newington, Halstow and Upchurch has reported a 25.5% drop.
All wards in Faversham are showing a drop. The total number of cases in the borough was 1,067 up until December 23.
Swale's first mass testing station for those without covid symptoms opened at Sheerness East Working Men's Club at Halfway on Sheppey on Friday, December 18, so its figures are included in the new data.
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