Devon care home outbreaks are "reminder of how infectious this virus is"
Devon's Director of Public Health says while cases may be low in the county, we must take "every precaution to prevent its further spread"
Devon's Director of Public Health is reminding the public to "remain vigilant" following COVID outbreaks in two care homes in the county this week.
Steve Brown says they are a reminder of "how infectious this virus is".
Public Health Devon are now working with the affected homes to make sure residents and staff are safe.
"Coronavirus is still a very infectious virus, and cases like this are a reminder of how important it is for us still to remain vigilant and to take every precaution to prevent its further spread."
The places affected are Holmesley Care Home in Sidmouth and Brandon House in Exmouth.
All residents in both settings had their first dose of the vaccine before the outbreaks.
Cllr Ian Barlow - Chair of Sidmouth Town Council - says he fears it could have been a lot worse had they not been inoculated:
"These are some of the most vulnerable people in our society that are in these care homes, so if that had been pre vaccine, I just wonder if the situation would have been an awful lot worse and a lot more people would have died.
"We're very lucky that Devon County Council and East Devon District Council's health officers are in there working with the community now to get on top of it."
One resident has died at Holmesley Care Home, whilst nine residents have died at Brandon House
Case rates in Devon are continuing to fall, although the rate of decline has slowed over recent weeks.
Positive cases are currently highest in those aged 80 and over, with rates slightly higher in East Devon.