Nearly 2,700 tests were handed out on the first day of a huge operation in parts of Maidstone.

Emergency service and council workers are going door-to-door asking residents in predominantly ME15 postcode areas to be tested for the South African strain of coronavirus, with the aim of getting 10,000 swabs back.

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It comes after a resident with a ME15 postcode testing positive for the variant, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain.

There is currently no evidence to suggest this variant is more serious than others.

Similar operations have been launched in parts of Surrey, London, Hertfordshire, Southport and Walsall, after cases of the South African variant were found which couldn't be linked to international travel.

Door-to-door visits kicked off at around 2pm yesterday, with 1689 households approached to take a test.

Some 2697 tests were handed out and 2053 were collected back.

Residents are offered a test, take it in their home and then members of the testing task force collect it.

Yesterday, before the tests were delivered, Stuart Baird, an operations officer at Kent Search and Rescue said the project could take up to five days to complete.

Kent County Council (KCC) yesterday released a list of the specific postcodes in the target area for testing.

The task force may not visit all the houses in the target area, but will keep knocking on doors until it reaches 10,000 tests.

A mobile testing unit has been set up in the car park outside the YMCA at Melrose Close, Loose and is being used to assist people who are unable to be tested at home and used as a drop off point for these tests.

It's believed the door-to-door visits will take place between 12 and 8pm each day.

There is no set plan for which streets will be visited on what day, as it depends what areas teams have covered previously.

The message to residents in the targeted postcodes is to stick to the national lockdown rules.

It comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock caused confusion when he urged them to stay at home and await a test during a Downing Street press conference on Monday.

Yesterday, government clarified that national lockdown rules remain in place and that essential workers can still go to work and shops will remain open in ME15, but stressed the importance of residents in the entire postcode taking extra precautions.

The confusing messaging was criticised by Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) leader Martin Cox and residents.

As surge testing began in Maidstone, scientists revealed fresh concerns about the Kent variant of the virus.

Some 11 cases near Bristol have been identified as the variant first detected in the county in September, but are now showing the E484K mutation.

The Kent variant is believed to be 70% more transmissible and Sir Patrick Vallance, chief medical officer, suggested the variant may increase death rate by 30%.

The E484K mutation has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing people contracting Covid-19.

However, public heath experts believe current vaccines will still be effective against strains with the mutation, although at a lower level, and are good at preventing severe disease.

The South African variant being tested for in Maidstone also shows that mutation.

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