The Archbishop of Canterbury says he is unconcerned about large congregations gathering for Christmas church services this week despite Covid rates soaring.

Families are scheduled to descend on Canterbury Cathedral for carol singing and holy communion over the next eight days to mark the festive period.

An open-air concert in the city centre on Christmas Eve has already been scrapped amid growing concerns that positive Omicron tests have risen drastically in recent weeks.

But the Archbishop, Justin Welby, says he is not worried about the cathedral services, adding the events are “essential”.

When asked if he was concerned about hosting congregations with “lots of people singing”, he said: “Interestingly, over the last two years the church has worked really hard on safety. We’ve become pretty good at it.

“So, no, I’m not concerned because we are very aware of the issues and the coming together to worship God is where we find strength, mental health, hope, and where we can get re-routed in each other.

“It’s not a leisure activity; it’s something that’s essential. Go along to church because in God we find the foundation for our whole lives.”

Carol services will be held at the landmark on Friday and Saturday.

A Eucharist led by the Archbishop will also take place on Christmas Day, and this will be followed by an event marking the death of Thomas Becket in the cathedral's nave next Wednesday.

The Church of England boss, who had to isolate last week after being pinged, says visitors to the site will have to wear face coverings, and will be reminded to maintain social distancing.

“You’re expected to wear masks,” continued Mr Welby, who returned a negative PCR test over the weekend.

“The only people who don’t wear masks are the clergy.

“We put masks on and take them off during the service. Not a lot changes, in other words.”

Early figures published on Friday already show there were 997 confirmed or probable Omicron cases in Kent in the week up to December 13 - more than 20 times higher than the same data set the week before.

It remains to be seen what the final total will be on Friday, but the numbers suggest the variant - which is widely thought to be more transmissible than Delta - has now taken hold in the county.

Kent's Covid rate has risen 32% in the most recent week, with more than 13,000 new cases recorded - the highest numbers since January.

However, the Archbishop would not be drawn on whether he believes tighter Covid restrictions should be introduced ahead of December 25.

"I’m not concerned because we are very aware of the issues and the coming together to worship God is where we find strength, mental health and hope..."

“I trust the people who are making the decisions," he explained.

"I think they’re bearing in mind, quite rightly, three things.

"One is protection from the virus, second is the mental health and morale of the country in seeing each other and gaining strength from each other, and third is the impact on the economy and the impact that that has on mental health and wellbeing across the country.

"I’m not a scientist, I’m a theologian and I’m not qualified to say. I won’t try to evade the question, I’m simply not going to answer it because I just don’t know.”

Despite the rise in Covid cases in Kent, there is yet to be a significant rise in the number of people with the virus in the county’s hospitals.

A week ago there were 176 Covid patients in the county - up 11 on the week, but just a fraction of the 897 on the same day last year.