Alarming new figures suggest Omicron is already the dominant variant in Kent - and causing record case numbers in one borough.

In the first week of December, confirmed or probable cases of the strain accounted for just 10% of all those recorded in the county.

But early figures suggest Omicron numbers have since increased drastically, and now likely surpass those of the Delta variant.

Analysis of the current situation in Kent is made difficult by a 10-day delay in the government sharing full and complete data for local authorities.

But new figures published yesterday appear concerning.

They show that in the week up December 6 there were 1,156 confirmed or probable Omicron cases in Kent - a staggering difference from the 44 reported for that same week in premature data released last Friday.

Worryingly, early figures for the week that followed, up to December 13, already show 997 such cases in the county - more than 20 times higher than the same data set last week.

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

But there is a stark difference in where the strain appears to be most prevalent.

Analysis of the final data for the week up to December 6 shows just 4.2% of cases in Thanet were confirmed or probable Omicron, while in Dartford this figure was almost 25%.

It likely explains the rapid rise in infections in the west Kent borough, which now has one of the highest Covid rates in the UK after a 46% weekly increase.

Initial figures suggest Dartford’s rate will soar even further over the next few days as it repeatedly registers pandemic-high case numbers.

Across Kent as a whole, not since January have total infections been as high as they currently are, with 10,491 new cases in the week up to December 12, and a further 1,829 in Medway.

The county’s infection rate - at 660 weekly cases per 100,000 people - is also higher than the national average of 558.

But reassuringly, just 5% of new cases across Kent are being seen in those aged 60 and over - a group considered more vulnerable to falling seriously ill with Covid.

There has also yet to be a significant rise in the number of people with the virus in Kent’s hospitals.

On Tuesday, 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.

However, while patient numbers continue to remain low, the surge in cases brought on by the spread of Omicron is likely to see a spike over Christmas and into new year.

Health chiefs will hope the success of the vaccine roll-out - with 77% of over-12s in Kent now double jabbed - will keep more people out of hospital.

And the government is pinning its hopes on its bid to deliver a booster to jab to all adults by December 31.

As of Thursday, 44% of over-12s in Kent had received a third vaccine dose.

But the government's scientific advisers say tougher restrictions are needed soon if ministers want to stop national hospital admissions reaching 3,000 a day.

It comes as Omicron continues to spread across the UK, and is thought to now be the dominant variant in England and Scotland, replacing Delta.

On Friday, the UK saw another record number of daily Covid cases for the third day in a row, with more than 93,000 infections announced.