A number of residents and staff have tested positive for Covid-19 at a Norfolk care home, with extra support given to manage the situation.

The outbreak has affected the 40-bed Shiels Court Care Home, at Braydeston Avenue in Brundall, which cares for people with dementia and mental illness.

Bosses at the care home are working with health and social care bosses to help to manage the cases. The home has not given precise figures, but said between 10 to 20 residents and 10 to 15 staff had tested positive.

Kash Afsar, director of Amson Care Ltd, which runs the home, said: “We are working closely with Norfolk’s local outbreak management team and colleagues from Public Health England, Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group and Norfolk County Council’s adult social care following an outbreak at our home.

“A number of our staff and residents have tested positive for Covid-19 and we are actively managing the situation.

“We have been in regular contact with relatives to provide information and reassurance and are following the advice of the specialist teams in caring for our residents at this time.”

Diane Steiner, deputy director of public health in Norfolk, said: “We are working with Shiels Court to provide testing and support following an outbreak of coronavirus at the care home.

“Infection control nurses are supporting the care home and we are continuing to provide advice and support to help minimise the risk of the virus spreading further.

“We know this might be a worrying time for those who have loved ones at the home. We will continue working with our partners to support the home to minimise the impact on residents and their families.”

Norfolk County Council said as of last Friday, across 362 care homes in the county, 130 staff members and 63 residents had tested positive. They said they had 55 ‘open situations’ and 35 outbreaks in care settings, including care homes, assisted living and day centres.

Dr Louise Smith, director of public health in Norfolk, said the vast majority were of no more than two cases, but added: “We are currently working with two or three care homes that have had slightly larger numbers of cases.”

Latest Care Quality Commission figures, from Monday, October 26, up to Friday last week, showed two deaths of people with Covid-19 in care settings in the county in that period.