Care home boss shocked at speed of Covid variant

The manager of the care home at the centre of England's biggest outbreak of a new Covid variant has spoken of her shock at how fast it spread.

Last month the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said an outbreak at a then-unknown care home in Norfolk was behind a new variant spreading across the country.

It has since been revealed that the home was Shipdham Manor at Shipdham, near Dereham.

The home had 28 cases of BA.2.86, an Omicron spin-off, but manager Kay Emsley said all residents had now recovered.

Ms Emsley, 31, said it started with residents having cold and flu-like symptoms.

"As the day went on more and more people became poorly and it started affecting staff as well," she said.

Ms Emsley felt it could have been a new variant because of the pace at which it was spreading, she said.

"We were very shocked but luckily we didn't actually find the results out until the Covid outbreak was over and done with," she said.

All residents have recovered but some are suffering with long Covid and staff at are monitoring them closely.

Resident Audrey Scarrow, 89, was tested but did not get Covid.

She said that rules designed to stop the spread of the virus meant it was not "wildly exciting" living in the home during the outbreak, but that she loved living there and staff were "lovely" and "very kind".

When the outbreak first happened, Norfolk County Council interim director of public health Stuart Lines said: “The care home has acted proactively and responsibly in prioritising the health and wellbeing of their residents."

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