Folkestone district has the highest death rate in Kent for Covid-19.

Figures released yesterday show the rate for people who died within 28 days of a positive test in the district is 180.5 per 100,000 people.

This is the highest rate of all the areas in the county.

The data reveals that 204 people in the district, which includes Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh, have died from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

The area with the second highest death rate in Kent is Thanet, with a rate of 151.5 per 100,000 people, and then Swale at 149.9.

Fourth is Dover, with a rate of 143.9 and Ashford is fifth with a rate of 133 per 100,000 people.

The figures are released by the government and updated daily.

They show that the area in England with the highest death rate overall is Tameside, Manchester, with a rate of 218.1 deaths per 100,000 people.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, in Scotland, has the lowest rate overall, at 3.7 per 100,000.

Medway and Swale have the highest case rates in Kent, with 991.5 and 921.5 cases per 100,000 people respectively.

It comes as Kent and other parts of the south east were plunged into a new, stricter, Tier 4 on Sunday.

It means all non essential shops have to close and mixing households over Christmas is now banned.

The government introduced the new restrictions to encourage people to stay home after a new strain of the coronavirus was identfied.

As such, France closed its borders, which has resulted in chaos at the Port of Dover for the last two days.

Hundreds of lorries are now stuck in Kent, with Operation Brock introduced last night.

Discussions with the French government were “ongoing” after the PM said on Monday evening the two countries were working “to unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible”.

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