A relative of two residents at Abbotswood says she does not believe the Covid-related deaths there reflect on the way the care home is run.

Flowers have been left outside the Ballasalla-based nursing home where a majority of residents have tested positive for Covid - and from where as many as 17 have died from the virus.

A woman whose parents were both in Abbotswood and has lost one to Covid while the other has also tested positive, has defended the care they both received in the home.

Speaking anonymously, she said: ’Both my parents felt extremely safe and happy there. The staff made a tremendous difference.

’What has happened is no reflection on the staff. With Covid-19 people can be asymptomatic. You can have it and not present with it.’

She said without first rate PPE and a quick turn-round of testing, care homes will struggle to control Covid spreading once the virus gets in. ’It is absolutely imperative that all staff in a care home have the right equipment,’ she said.

Health Minister David Ashford confirmed that 47 residents at Abbotswood have tested positive.

He confirmed that the four latest Covid fatalities, two announced on Friday and two yesterday (Monday), all involved residents. Three of these died at the home and one in hospital.

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This means that all but three of the 20 coronavirus fatalities in the island are linked to the nursing home.

The Department of Health and Social Care stepped in to support the running of the private care home on Easter Monday after a number of residents and staff tested positive for the virus.

Twelve residents have been transferred to the Newlands unit at Noble’s while the care home is being deep cleaned, section by section.

At a press briefing, Mr Ashford was asked why residents struck down with the virus had not been admitted to hospital.

He replied: ’Those patients who died in the community did not require hospital-level intervention. This would not have changed the outcome.

’Within nursing homes we have a large cohort of people with underlying health conditions. When the virus attacks them it can be quite quick. None of these patients reached the stage where they required hospital care other than the one who was already admitted to hospital.’

He said the department has a suspicion, but can’t be 100% certain, how the virus came into the home.

Like all care homes in the island, visitors had been banned from Abbotswood at the start of the outbreak in the island.

An unannounced visit by the DHSC’s regulation and inspection unit gave Abbotswood a clean bill of health only in January.

Inspectors found the home to be compliant in areas including training and following robust policies in relation to cross infection and hygiene control.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said: ’The deaths we have seen there are heartbreaking. We know some people have been asking about reviews and an investigation. All I can say is that right now the absolute priority is the welfare of the residents.

’We have stepped in to support Abbotswood in a variety of ways, clinical and non-clinical. We have provided support of deep cleaning, laundry services and essential repairs. A team of clinicians and the team supporting them are ensuring residents receive the best possible care.’

The Health Minister urged people to think twice before they make comments on social media in relation to Abbotswood.