Coronavirus: Eight care home deaths in 10 days linked to virus

Director Maureen Sim said staff felt they had lost "extended family"

Eight deaths at a care home within 10 days have been linked to coronavirus, managers said.

Three residents at Finborough Court near Stowmarket who died were confirmed to have contracted Covid-19, while the other five deaths are suspected to be connected to the virus.

The organisation running the 32-bed home said the remaining residents were in isolation, and none had symptoms.

Director Maureen Sim said staff felt they had lost "extended family".

The people who have died were in their 80s and 90s.

Ms Sim said relatives were being kept informed of developments at the home in Great Finborough, which looks after a number of people with dementia.

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The first of the deaths was on 1 April. Of the eight residents who died, one had been transferred to hospital.

New Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that more than 217 people died with Covid-19 in care homes in England and Wales up to 3 April.

The statistics were published as the NHS Confederation, representing organisations across the healthcare sector, warned that coronavirus deaths in care homes had "largely gone under the radar".