'Vulnerable' independent living home residents in Portsmouth advised not to allow visitors

Residents of Caroline Square in Portsea have been reminded of current government guidelines, including not allowing visitors in their homes, to minimise the risk of infection.

It comes as one resident of the home died in Queen Alexandra Hospital with coronavirus symptoms, although it is not known where they contracted the virus. There are currently no other confirmed cases of Covid-19 at Caroline Square.

The director of extra care at provider Housing 21, which runs Caroline Square in Portsea, Kris Peach, said: 'We are deeply saddened by the death of one of our residents who lived at our extra care independent living scheme, Caroline Square.

'The resident was admitted to hospital for an unrelated reason but was then diagnosed with coronavirus in hospital and has since sadly passed away while in hospital. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.'

Caroline Square is made up of 43 flats and communal facilities including a lounge, laundry room, cafe and hairdressing salon.

Mr Peach explained that communal areas had been closed due to the pandemic, however, there was no way to lockdown the whole building.

He said: 'The health and wellbeing of our residents is our priority. There are no other confirmed cases at the scheme and we continue to meticulously follow Public Health England guidelines for supported living provision.

'We have increased our cleaning schedule for communal areas, which are also no longer open to visitors, and any care staff on site are using the appropriate PPE.

'Caroline Square is an independent living scheme. Our residents are all older and most have underlying health conditions. As a consequence our residents are more vulnerable to coronavirus than the wider population.

'As the scheme is not a residential care home, the support from residents and family members is crucial to help enforce the government guidelines on social distancing and not letting visitors into your home.

'I have written to all residents in our extra care schemes today to reinforce the importance of social distancing and staying safe.'

The latest figures from NHS England showed 169 people have died at QA Hospital with coronavirus symptoms.

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