Elderly alarm after alert to stay indoors
A SHELTERED housing complex in Ayrshire was at the centre of a coronavirus alert yesterday as it was confirmed someone in the region tested positive for the deadly disease.
Elderly residents of Creighton Court, in the Onthank area of Kilmarnock, were ordered to stay indoors after a man – understood to have recently returned from a holiday in Singapore – reported feeling unwell.
Last night, owners of the care home said the resident is not the confirmed Ayrshire case but is awaiting test results on coronavirus.
Earlier in the day, residents told how they had been told to stay indoors – fears which were further compounded by the Scottish Government announcing that one of the two new Scots cases was from Ayrshire.
One resident said yesterday: “I got the call at about 3pm on Tuesday. A message said, ‘Stay inside your cottage, don’t go out, don’t go to the laundry’.
“The warden called this morning and said it was OK to go out but they hadn’t had the results back yet.
“I was a wee bit worried. I have health problems so I’m one of the ones they have to watch out for.”
Another resident said the complex where the residents congregate for social events was to be deep-cleaned.
They said: “The man had recently returned from Singapore. He reported feeling unwell to the warden, who has been told not to come in now as a precaution.”
Chris Milburn, director of customer services for Hanover Scotland, which runs the complex, said: “On Tuesday, a resident at one of our developments in Ayrshire who had recently returned from south-east Asia reported feeling unwell.
“Because the wellbeing of our residents and staff is our prime concern, our site manager immediately contacted the NHS and the resident was taken to hospital for tests.
“We took the decision at the same time to ask residents to stay in their homes until this morning (March 4) as a precaution.
“We have been in touch with each resident and advised them that, in line with advice published by NHS Inform, they can carry on as normal.
“Our senior management team is meeting regularly to review the situation and we have also contacted the local authority to keep them informed.”