Mass testing for coronavirus will be rolled out within weeks in two more of the hardest-hit areas in Kent.

Centres will be set up in Thanet and Swale, where prevalence of Covid-19 is highest, with further sites being investigated in other districts.

The asymptomatic testing, which has already been set up in Medway, will help to identify people who may have the virus without symptoms and are therefore potentially spreading it unknowingly.

People showing no symptoms will be invited to sites for a lateral flow test. This is a swab test in which the result is given within 30 minutes, unlike a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test which requires a laboratory and specialist equipment.

Kent County Council will be launching a recruitment drive to run the testing sites, along with redeploying existing workforce where possible, and the military has also been drafted in to help.

It is hoped the move will help reduce case numbers in Thanet and Swale and get back to manageable levels of the virus, placing Kent in a better position to move out of Tier 3.

The latest figures show rates have dropped slightly by 3% to 437.6 weekly cases per 100,000 people in Thanet, and have risen by just 0.3% in Swale to a rate of 575.7 in the seven days to December 1. The national average is 149.5.

Andrew Scott-Clark, KCC's director of Public Health, says he must highlight the scale of the mass testing challenge.

"For a county as big as Kent this is a huge undertaking," he said.

"We need to have sites secured and made Covid-safe, resources recruited and trained to carry out the testing, and a robust logistical plan to ensure the storage, transportation and availability of equipment, testing kits and IT infrastructure at each site.

"We want you to understand the scope of the work we are doing and see first hand the progress we have made in a short space of time.

"KCC, district and borough council partners and other multi-agency partners are simultaneously working on targeted asymptomatic testing, planning vaccination sites alongside the NHS, and preparing for transition on December 31.

'Rates across the county will only start to level off and reduce if people follow the restrictions...'

"Our aim is to keep people as safe as we can throughout the pandemic, as well as keeping Kent moving and open for business as transition approaches at the end of the year.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been working so hard this past year, your efforts are really appreciated."

Kent's coronavirus infection rate has hit its highest ever level despite the month-long national lockdown, with deaths rising 10-fold in November.

Latest figures show there were more county cases in the week up to Sunday than in any other since the pandemic struck.

In Kent, rates are highest in Swale and Thanet, but neighbouring Medway now has the highest rates in the UK.

It is hoped the mass asymptomatic testing will slow the rates and help manage the second wave of the virus.

The government has also already begun lateral flow testing in settings that are most vulnerable - for example care homes and NHS - across Kent.

Community outbreaks are being seen across the county, not just children at school or students at university, but also in the working age population.

Mr Scott-Clark said: "Rates across the county will only start to level off and reduce if people follow the restrictions and social distancing guidance (including wearing a mask in public and regular handwashing).

"We appreciate everyone is tired of those messages, but they are the only effective way to reduce transmission.”

For more information on Kent’s outbreak plans and the part you can play to help protect Kent, go to www.kent.gov.uk/protectkent

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Kent