THE chair of trustees at one of the district's leading care homes has thanked the community for "overwhelming" support following a Covid outbreak.

The Tyne Valley was rocked when the long-established Charlotte Straker House at Corbridge confirmed that a number of residents had died of the virus, while some members of staff had been taken ill.

Despite the devastating setback, workers unaffected by the virus at the home are continuing to provide care for the remaining residents.

Chair of trustees Berenice Groves spoke to the Courant on Wednesday, just days after making the news public.

She said: "For every one of us, the residents completely become part of our family, and that is something which has become even stronger over the past year.

"We have done everything we possibly can to keep this virus out, and to have an outbreak just really flattens us.

"The support we have received has been overwhelming. The community have been unbelievable."

The outbreak came despite very public efforts by Charlotte Straker House to keep the virus at bay.

It quickly established an isolation unit, and an appeal to retrospectively fund the four-room facility reached its first target of £70,000, last December, thanks to a host of personal donations, exercise challenges, grants and wide community support.

Mrs Groves added: "We were meeting weekly to review everything after measures were put in place. We had the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in to review us and they published a good report which said everything was being done as it should have been."

The chair of trustees said vaccinations began for residents at the centre as early as possible.

She said the isolation unit remained in operation for those showing any signs of symptoms, while any residents testing positive for the virus had to wait four weeks to receive a jab.

Staff at the home were accessing the local primary care vaccinations, she added.

Mrs Groves said her heart went out to everyone affected, especially the families who have lost loved ones.

She praised staff who were going the extra mile in the circumstances, and said those affected by the virus had been told to focus on their own personal welfare before returning to work. Mrs Groves also thanked the Angel of Corbridge for providing emergency accommodation for staff, and to individuals and organisations for support.