There have been no recent coronavirus outbreaks across North Ayrshire care homes after more than 20 tragic deaths in Irvine one during the pandemic.

The Health and Social Care Partnership’s last Integration joint board meeting heard all care homes in North Ayrshire remain COVID-free with no current outbreaks to report.

This comes after we reported 21 deaths in the privately-run HC-One Fullarton Care Home on Ayr Road earlier in the year.

Reading the HSCP director Stephen Brown’s report in his absence, Alison Sutherland, Head of Service for Children, Families and Criminal Justice said: “All Care Homes in North Ayrshire remain COVID-free with no current outbreaks to report. The weekly staff testing regime in care homes has continued to improve with more one thousand staff per week now being tested.

“As restrictions have been lifted relating to visiting within care homes, risk assessments have been consistently submitted by Care Homes in advance of each phase.

“These have been scrutinised and signed-off by the Care Home Oversight Group and the Director of Public Health.”