The operator of an Aberdeenshire care home has confirmed the death of residents following an outbreak of Covid.
The number of confirmed cases among staff and residents at Inchmarlo House care home near Banchory has today risen to 91, an increase of seven since yesterday.
A spokeswoman for the care home has now confirmed a number of deaths among those confirmed to have had the virus.
Although the exact number of people from the care home to have died after testing positive Covid-19 has not been confirmed, there have been at least five deaths.
The spokeswoman said: “Inchmarlo House Care Home is very grateful to residents, Inchmarlo homeowners, staff, families, friends and the local community for their support.
“We are deeply touched by the many expressions of kindness during these difficult times.
“We would like to thank all of the organisations that are supporting us and we continue to work closely with Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) which is supporting us at this difficult time.
“Sadly, some of those affected have passed away.
“The loss of any member of the Inchmarlo family is a tragedy, and our thoughts are with all those affected including their family, friends and the staff involved in their care.
“We are not able to comment further, due to the need for privacy of all residents and out of respect for all families, with whom we are in regular communication.
“Everyone at Inchmarlo House Care Home is wholly focused on the care of residents and is giving 100% of their time to this just now.”
An incident management team (IMT), made up of NHS Grampian and AHSCP staff, has been established to look into the outbreak and support the care home.
A spokeswoman for the IMT added: “There are now 91 detected cases of Covid-19 associated with Inchmarlo.
“We continue to support Inchmarlo House Care Home to manage the outbreak and we are deploying staff into the home to help in supporting the management and staff team to continue to care for residents.
“The home remains closed to new admissions and visiting.”
Yesterday, the operators of the Deeside Care Home in Cults, Aberdeen, also confirmed the death of a number of residents who had tested positive for the virus.
At least 52 cases have been detected at the Cults care home over the past four weeks, and the facility is also closed off to all new admissions and visitors.
