London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 14, 2025

Covid rules 'disregarded' as Swale becomes second worst-hit area

Covid rules 'disregarded' as Swale becomes second worst-hit area

Coronavirus rules are being "wilfully disregarded" in the district with one of the highest infection rates in England, the local council leader said.

Swale in Kent has the second highest rate in England, according to figures for the week to 19 November.

Roger Truelove, leader of Swale Borough Council, said it was "frustrating" to see people not wearing face coverings and breaking social distancing rules.

An emergency meeting took place earlier to discuss the issue.

The district, which includes the Isle of Sheppey and towns such as Sittingbourne and Faversham, has a population of about 150,000.

As the meeting took place, nearby Medway Maritime Hospital announced the death of nurse Hannah Jackson, who is understood to have died after developing Covid-19.



It has been uncommon for an area of the South East to report an infection rate in the top 20 of England's 315 local authorities.

But two areas in Kent are now showing significant increases - Swale, with the second highest infection rate of 565 per 100,000 people and Thanet with the third highest rate of 508.

Swale had earlier overtaken Hull as the worst-hit area in England, with a rate of 631.7 per 100,000 people in the week to 18 November.

Figures for the week to 19 November show Hull once again has the highest rate in England, at 568.6 cases per 100,000. The rate has fallen from 743.4 in the week to 9 November.


About 2,500 inmates are housed at three prisons on the Isle of Sheppey in Swale


Prison Service officials joined the emergency meeting in Kent following suggestions that outbreaks in the area's three jails could be making a "limited contribution" to the high infection rate.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Truelove said it was found that only 12% of cases in the past fortnight were in care homes and prisons.

The virus was being spread in people's homes and at social gatherings, he said.

"It only takes a small number of people to create the clusters of cases that are driving up our figures," he added.

Support would be targeted at people who "might not feel able to follow the rules," including people who "may be unwilling to get a test as they can't afford to have time off work," he said.

Key workers


Andrew Scott-Clark, public health director at Kent County Council, said infections were rising among households with lower incomes.

"They are effectively some of our care workers and key workers who have to go out and are more likely to be exposed by the virus," he said.

Whole families were being infected as the virus spread within a home, he added.

Mr Truelove had earlier: "I know most people and businesses are doing what they should, but it is frustrating to still see people not wearing face coverings or keeping their distance when they should.

"This kind of wilful disregard of the rules means we are more likely to have further restrictions imposed on us in December, which is hugely unfair for people and businesses who have been doing the right thing since March."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
×