Will Kent need more measures than tier 4 to get this under control?

[YuleAreBeingUnREASTIEable]

I’ve been keeping an eye on the stats and have been wondering for a few weeks what’s up with Kent. It was relatively under control compared to other areas, but numbers rose during lockdown 2 and have never stopped since. Despite being in tier 3, cases have continued rising. I couldn’t work out exactly why this was and assumed it was either general lack of compliance to the rules or spread in schools. It now seems it was also this spready variant.

Matt Hancock said today they had been watching Kent with concern because lockdown 2 didn’t bring down the stats and so it was not effective enough against the new type.

So, does this mean in Kent we could see further measures to tier 4 (which is pretty much lockdown 2 where cases continued rising)? More strict restrictions, maybe schools being online for a while? Or am I totally missing something. Maybe it was a compliance issue, and now they’ve scared the bejeezers out of everyone they will stay home in fear.

Yes, maybe it might help - although all this 'specualtion' about where it originated is most unhelpful. Maybe not the whole of Kent, if there are Districts with significantly lower infection rates - at least wait and see for a couple of weeks.

I'm in a low rate Tier 2 area but it's still possible that we could have a random local cluster at any time - and I'd be happy to super lockdown (Tier 5?) if it helped to contain it.

I’m also in Kent ( not Swale ) and according to local news there was a compliance issue particularly on Sheppey when Swale was the highest rates in the country . You than need to remember that hundreds of children come off of Sheppey everyday , on buses , to go to school in Sittingbourne . I’ve seen the buses and particularly on the top deck there are no masks in sight . It doesn’t need much working out really .

Sheppey and Dover are the worst.

Remember as well that the SE has had very low cases up to now, so there isn't the herd immunity that there will be in areas that have had a lot of cases already. When you compare it to the earlier outbreaks in places like Leicester and Manchester it probably isn't spreading massively quicker.

I'm in the SE and I personally know of around 5 people, including in my workplace of 500 people, who have had it prior to the recent outbreak.

@unique1986

Sheppey and Dover are the worst.

Is it high for Kent or actually higher than in areas outside Kent? Eg Thurrock?

@unique1986

It came from Italy.

Do you have any evidence for this claim?

I think a lot of it must be due to kids on public transport travelling 10 or 20 miles a day to get to school. The trains, stations and buses are so overcrowded it’s impossible to socially distance. 7 girls got it in dds class and dozens in the school.

It’s been the deprived parts of Kent, Swale / Sheppey and Medway. It’s been rampant, DH (who is from this area and therefore is allowed to be rude) reckoned it was because they are all pirates who don’t give a fuck.
I spoke to a colleague who works in This area a couple of weeks ago and she said that her whole team had been wiped out within 2 weeks.

www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN28U0RY

[quote unique1986]www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN28U0RY[/quote]
Just how thick are you?

I used to live in Kent.
My uneducated theory:

• It's near or contains major transport/haulage hubs- Dover, Folkestone, Tilbury just across the river.
• It also has direct train links to London and lots of commuters

Add in Eurostar and we have a lot of people arriving and heading into or through Kent.

@EstuaryBird

Funny that no Eurostars are stopping at Ashford or Ebbsfleet at the moment. Tell me, does have the ability to seep through train windows?

Bloody hell the nutters are out tonight.

It’s not from Europe, it evolved in the uK.

(There are not that many cases of it in Europe yet, hence closing the borders to U.K. travellers.)

^ Thank you. It was a link from my phone that's it. News feed.
Merry Christmas

@unique1986

It came from Italy.

This simply isn’t true. They have just this afternoon found 2 cases in Italy, people returning...from the U.K.

Load of racist shit on here. The earliest example of the strain was identified in the U.K., in a person with a weakened immune system who was receiving multiple plasma donations, allowing rapid evolution of the virus. This happened in the U.K., largely due to bad luck. It’s not the dirty foreigners, no matter how much you jingoistic shits would like to believe otherwise.

Bluewater probably - a giant Covid petri dish.

Schools are spreading it imo, kids travel a long way to get to schools due to Grammar system.

Most traffic coming through Dover drive on as they have rested in boats.

Thanet, an area of high deprivation has meant most people are not able to work from home and therefore have to go out to work, increasing likelihood of catching it.

Ashford was high originally but less so this time.

No one explanation I think

Thanet and Ashford also have a hospital.

I read somewhere recently that North Kent- Medway towns etc have a very high non-compliance rate for mask wearing, social distancing etc compared to the national average. Obviously this won't be the only reason but it can't have helped.

Wales' cases are higher than Kent's and have been for several weeks now. Our ICU beds are full in two health boards and all appointments have been cancelled unless life threatening. Fascinating the coverage this "new strain" is getting now that the south east is affected now.

@Pinkandwrinkly

Bluewater probably - a giant Covid petri dish.

I’ve not been personally but my adult ds has been to Bluewater a few times , and a couple since the Nov lockdown and it’s always been very quiet and again the only people not wearing masks etc have been groups of teenagers . Obviously last night it was heaving according to the news as everyone dashed off to shop whilst they could .

@forwardsbackwardsrebound

Add in Eurostar and we have a lot of people arriving and heading into or through Kent.

@EstuaryBird

Funny that no Eurostars are stopping at Ashford or Ebbsfleet at the moment. Tell me, does have the ability to seep through train windows?

Bloody hell the nutters are out tonight.

Point taken. I wasn’t actually aware that Eurostars weren’t stopping...have a few other things on my mind tbh.

Just observed a lot of traffic from Europe.

But hey, thanks for the nutter comment, much appreciated. Happy Christmas to you too x

@mangothoughts

I read somewhere recently that North Kent- Medway towns etc have a very high non-compliance rate for mask wearing, social distancing etc compared to the national average. Obviously this won't be the only reason but it can't have helped.

Demand for asymptomatic testing has been high. The 3 day pop up testing centre at the football ground has been extended for another two days.

I have family in Medway and it’s not true that they aren’t complying with mask westing etc. I think it’s just bad luck that the new strain appears to have started there. I’m really worried about my family.