Coronavirus: Selston care home manager 'heartbroken' over deaths of nine patients

Anita Astle, from dementia care home Wren Hall Nursing Home, told the BBC that 16 other residents had shown symptoms.

Ms Astle said: "It's soul destroying, staff are heartbroken, it's awful to watch people deteriorate, and people are deteriorating very rapidly.

"It's just horrendous."

The manager of the 41-bed care home said she had spent nearly £9,000 on personal protective equipment which lasted just 10 days, and said she was struggling to get a regular supply of PPE for her staff.

She added that the national disruption service, used to obtain PPE, was "wholly inadequate" and "unscrupulous suppliers" were charging nearly 10 times the normal amount for items such as masks.

"We've got 16 people in the home that are symptomatic and only one of those has been transferred to hospital," she added.

In the face of such sad news, the community of Selston have pulled together to do what they can for Wren Hall.

On community Facebook page Spotted Selston, one resident shared a picture of their houses lit up with ‘Stay strong Wren Hall’ lights, and others have wished staff and residents well.

The government has been criticised for not including people who have died from the virus in their own homes, or in a care setting, in the daily official death tolls.

The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed 2,099 care homes in England have so far had cases of the virus.