5 Covid-19 deaths recorded in Hampshire County Council area care homes - with none in Portsmouth

The latest Office for National Statistics figures revealed there were no deaths in city care homes between 13 and 19 for the fifth week in a row, with the total standing at 37 since records began on April 10.

Portsmouth health boss, Councillor Matt Winnington, said: ‘I think again we can’t rest on our laurels, we have to keep making sure our infection control measures are in place, especially now that the government is lifting restrictions on people in a couple of weeks' time.

‘People working in the care homes will be engaging with more people after this so it's so important we keep to the guidelines that we have been following so far.

‘Now that we have got the first draft of our local outbreak plan we will be able to control the virus at a more local level.

‘But obviously no Covid-19 deaths in care homes for five weeks is a positive.’

The data also showed there were five deaths linked to Covid-19 in care homes in the Hampshire County Council area in the same week, which is a massive overall decline as there had been as many as 81 in a week at one time.

It means that of all care home deaths in the county council area 10.2 per cent were linked to coronavirus, below the average for England which was 11.3 per cent.

But the area has still seen the most care home deaths out of any in England with 385.

Steve Torrance, south east secretary of union Unison, believed the pandemic highlighted issues faced by care workers in the area.

He said: ‘It is a scandal that our members in the care sector are having to choose between paying their bills, putting food on the table and self isolating due to employers only paying £96 a week (standard sick pay) if a worker needs to protect themselves, service users and their families against the spread of Covid-19.

‘As part of the £600m package for care providers the government should insist that providers give full pay to all self isolating workers as a condition to financial support and put public safety first.’

Between June 13 and 19 there were no deaths linked to Covid-19 in Southampton care homes. Its total since April 10 is 56.

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