A new coronavirus testing centre is to open in the new year in one of the worst-hit areas of the county.

The news that the facility will be set up in Sittingbourne comes at a time when Swale is battling with the tenth-worst Covid-19 infection rate in the UK.

With 921.5 cases of the virus per 100,000 people, the borough is second only to neighbouring Medway when it comes to prevalence of the coronavirus in Kent.

Swale Borough Council (SBC) leader Cllr Roger Truelove has pleased with people in the area to go even further than the toughest Tier 4 restrictions in a bid to bring the outbreak back under control.

He said: "The Tier 4 is said to have been made necessary by the new variant strain about which we in Swale council had heard nothing until it was announced by the Health Secretary in parliament. It has hit Kent in particular.

"Sadly, infection rates in Swale continue to rise, though not at the same rate as in other places and we are, now, not referred to as the 'number one' in the country.

"Having said that, the situation is critical, and I can not only implore people to follow the guidelines but, in fact, if possible, go even further than the regulations to try to control the virus."

"This is not the sort of Christmas that we want..."

"We are asked to stay at home, get exercise of course, but only meet one person in an outdoors setting. I went for a walk to a park on Sunday afternoon and I have to say that that message had clearly not registered with most people.

"Regulations will only bring this virus down if we willingly comply."

Cllr Truelove welcomed the news of the new testing centre in Sittingbourne, which follows a testing facility which opened on the Isle of Sheppey this month.

"Because of our high rate of infection, asymptomatic testing has been introduced into Swale before other parts of the county in the KCC area of public health administration," he said.

"This is obviously a good step forward. KCC tell us there will be a testing site in Sittingbourne in the New Year.

"This is not the sort of Christmas that we want, and we must do out best to look forward to better times, but until then, we must do all we can to save lives.

"Infection comes from close human contact and so we must wear our masks and socially distance. That is the main way to defeat this virus."

Read more: All the latest news from Sittingbourne

Read more: All the latest news from Sheppey