AN East London care home on Wednesday (8) said that seven of its residents have died of coronavirus and another 21 residents are showing symptoms of the infection.
The tragedy happened at the Hawthorn Green home in Stepney, which houses 48 people.
A care home spokesman has said that following the incident a dozen of its staff members are also off work, either self-isolating or shielding.
He added that 21 residents at the care home are showing at least one symptom consistent with the virus.
Bangladesh-origin Jamshad Ali, 87, a resident at the care home, died in the Royal London Hospital on 24 March after contracting Covid-19.
A week ago, he was discharged from hospital after getting treatment for chest infection.
"If we had known the virus was so prevalent in Hawthorn Green we would not have sent him back there after he had been in hospital,” his daughter Luthfa Hood said.
"We cannot praise the NHS enough for what they did. But there needs to be more testing, especially in places like care homes where the most vulnerable live,” she added.
The care home said that it doing everything it can to provide the best care in the ‘days and weeks ahead’.
The DHSC said that it is providing personal protective equipment to over 26,000 care home providers across the country.
