It comes after a steep rise in cases just before lockdown when 833 positive tests were recorded in Tonbridge & Malling.
While cases have fallen since the new restrictions were introduced, there were still 607 new cases of Covid recorded last week.
The leader of Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, Nicolas Heslop, has written to residents to say the need to open a temporary mortuary at Aylesford should have left no one in ‘any doubt about the seriousness of the current situation’.
But he added: “Despite this increased risk, especially for vulnerable groups, there’s evidence that a minority of people and businesses have lapsed into bending or breaking the rules on staying home, protecting the NHS and saving lives. While in some cases this may be inadvertent, in others it appears to be borne of a casual disregard for the safety of others.”
He continued: “We must also fulfil our role in helping to keep people safe, working with the police and others to ensure swift action is taken when we see the rules being flouted. Given the current level of risk we’ve taken the decision to strengthen our approach, not only to encouraging everyone to do the right thing, but also in tackling those who choose not to.”
He said new measures include more high visibility messaging in public places and increased checks on those businesses that remain open, such as supermarkets.
“We will also be deploying more ‘Covid marshals’ across the borough to provide public reassurance while also acting as the eyes and ears of our enforcement teams. I would also urge anyone who sees activity which is risking people’s safety to report it to us or to the police,” he said.
