Six Isle of Wight care homes have at least one positive case of coronavirus, the Isle of Wight Council has confirmed. But the local authority says it cannot say how many people have the illness in each home, as not all residents with symptoms are tested. It could also not confirm whether any care home residents with COVID-19 had passed away - or what homes have been affected. According to the council, in each care home an initial five possible cases may be 'swabbed' for the virus by Public Health England (PHE). However, it says that the testing of all cases is not necessary because it 'would not change' how the outbreak is managed:
“We support residential care homes and nursing homes with any issues relating to Covid-19 and infection control.
“Care homes with more than one resident with suspected Covid-19 should report this to their local PHE health protection team who would advise on infection prevention and control measures in accordance with the latest national guidance.
“In outbreak situations, PHE may arrange swabbing for up to five initial possible cases to confirm the existence of an outbreak. Testing all cases is not required as this would not change subsequent management of the outbreak.
“As such, the number of positive tests does not accurately reflect the number of cases within individual care homes.”
It comes after one care home in Ryde made the decision to move staff in, in a bid to protect residents. As previously reported by Isle of Wight Radio, carers at Victoria House are spending day and night at work in the hope of preventing an outbreak. No residents at the home have tested positive. Manager Claire Leggett called on testing for care staff and residents “to happen as quickly as it can”: “I know they keep saying that we will get some tests in the next 48 hours but I feel like I kind of believe it when I see it. "I think we owe it [testing] to the residents and staff. "We are getting regular daily updates from the Isle of Wight Council, the CCG, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, places like that... they are all very supportive and i'm very grateful for it."An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson says it is only just beginning to receive statistics from PHE on the numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths attributable to the virus not recorded in hospital.
Therefore, it says it is still 'establishing' a way of reporting such figures:“The information is likely to change rapidly from what is noted in the reporting due to the dynamic nature of Covid-19 disease. We are establishing processes to improve reporting of deaths in non-hospital settings, including nursing and residential care homes, at home, hospices, other communal establishments or elsewhere.
“The focus of all agencies is on providing guidance and support on infection prevention and control (IPC) during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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