A Co Kilkenny nursing home says three of its residents have died from Covid-19 following a large outbreak of the virus in the facility.

They are among six deaths of residents in the care of Gowran Abbey nursing home over the past week, according to listings on rip.ie.

Some 31 of the nursing home’s 42 residents, along with 19 staff, contracted the virus this month, according to the manager Maireád Parker Byrne.

Hospital Report

The number of residents still recovering from the disease has since fallen to under 20, she said.

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The privately-run nursing home, in which all residents have single, ensuite rooms, was largely unaffected earlier in the pandemic until the outbreak hit it “like a train” in December, according to Ms Parker Byrne.

Aside from those infected after the virus entered from the community, large numbers of staff were unable to work as they were close contacts of cases.

After an appeal for help, the Health Service Executive stepped in to provide cover in the home before Christmas. Local hotels donated sheets so laundry staff could be redeployed to other duties.

Under HSE contingency arrangements, staff have also been providing specialist infection control and gerontological advice to assist the nursing home during the outbreak.

Ms Parker Byrne paid tribute to the “fantastic” support provided by staff from the HSE, public health departments and the watchdog, the Health Information and Quality Authority.

“The support was amazing. A group of experienced nurses give up their holidays to work with us for two weeks, and then had to go into isolation before going back to their own jobs.”

“Even on Christmas Day, the HSE, Hiqa and public health were ringing to offer help.”

She said staff and residents had suffered a “devastating” psychological impact as a result of the “brutal” outbreak “and we will not be unscathed”.

However, each of the patients who had died “died with their hand held” despite the requirements for personal protective equipment and the limitations on visits.

“We have been walking on our knees over the past weeks and it is only today that we’re getting back up on our feet.”

The outbreak at Gowran Abbey is one of a number of large outbreaks in nursing homes in the county.

St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny city has suffered one of the large hospital outbreaks of Covid-19 in recent weeks.

At its height, the hospital had 33 virus patients but this has now reduced to 17.