Second Covid death confirmed at Devon care home as police investigation launched
A second death has been confirmed at a Devon care home which is currently at the centre of a police and health investigation, after a large outbreak of Covid-19.
Holmesley Care Home in Sidmouth has not disclosed how many of its residents and staff have tested positive for the virus, or why it is under investigation by the authorities.
It is believed confirmed coronavirus case numbers have risen since it was reported as many as 33 positive tests were recorded in the space of three days.
It was also reported five residents have been admitted to hospital in the past few days.
The care home had 42 residents living there in September 2020.
Staff at the care home had already been vaccinated and it is thought they were due to have their second vaccination this weekend.
The latest death has occurred within the past 24 hours and is it thought that the resident was receiving end of life care before whilst diagnosed with Covid-19.
An investigation has now been launched by police alongside health and social care regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following the outbreak.
A spokesperson for Welford Healthcare, the owner of Holmesley Care Home, said: “I can confirm that we are currently dealing with an outbreak of coronavirus in the home and that sadly, two residents have passed away from the virus.
"They will be deeply missed and our thoughts are with their loved ones at this challenging time.
“The vast majority of our residents and our staff team have received their first dose of the vaccine and we hope this may have helped prevent an even worse situation.
"Of the residents and staff who tested positive, the majority have shown either no symptoms, or mild symptoms only. We continue to monitor the situation closely, and are doing everything in our power to ensure residents receive the appropriate care.
"For nearly 12 months our staff team has worked incredibly hard to keep the virus from entering our home. We are therefore devastated by this outbreak and are committed to working closely with all the relevant authorities to halt the spread of infection and to investigate how the virus entered our home.
"We continue to follow all Public Health England advice on infection prevention and control."
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