Kent County Council’s Director of Public Health, Andrew Scott-Clark, has confirmed that half a million symptom free tests have been carried out in Kent. This is a remarkable outcome from a standing start just before Christmas. At that time, I visited (and took a test) at one of the two sites that were opening (on the Isle of Sheppey and in Thanet). Since then, a network of sites has been developed across the county. In the early stages in particular, we had vital support from military logistics teams, although the network has now been self-sustaining for some time.
The indications are that Kent amounts to more than ten per cent of symptom-free tests carried out across the country, and our neighbours and colleagues in Medway (whose testing regime started around ten days before Kent’s) also have very high incidence relative to their population.
This is a remarkable achievement by the team led by Andrew Scott-Clark, and reflects the authority’s determination that the county would make its way out of the severe restrictions instituted before Christmas through a combination of symptom-free testing, local contact tracing and effective communication and enforcement. Symptom-free testing is set to continue until at least the end of June, and remains a vital tool in the effort to keep our infection rates low, especially as restrictions start to ease.
