Kent and Medway has the third highest care home coronavirus death rate in the country - but figures suggest the county is past the peak.

A total of 240 deaths were recorded at Kent's facilities and a further 12 in Medway between April 10 and May 22, Office for National Statistics data shows.

On April 27 22 deaths were registered in the county and the figure has been on a gradual decline ever since suggesting care homes are also past the peak as shown in the table below.

The largest number of deaths (347) was registered in Hampshire while England's smallest county, Rutland, did not register a single death in the six-week period.

Surrey, Hertfordshire, Durham, Sheffield, West Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Lancashire and Oxfordshire also recorded 200 or more deaths. The data is broken down by authority so London's figure is split between boroughs.

We previously reported how Covid-19 deaths in the county have continued to fall in recent weeks but care home deaths have made up a larger proportion.

While the grim toll at Cliftonville's Grosvenor Court stands at 17.

And the government has been forced to defended its handling of the crisis in care homes following heavy criticism relating to its preparedness and questions over whether sick patients were discharged from hospital too early.

In the week to May 15, the most recent on record, care home deaths made up 36% of all deaths in Kent.

Of the 1,107 death recorded in Kent and Medway since the start of the pandemic, 26% occurred in care homes.

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