Six Renfrewshire care homes are working frantically to prevent a second wave of coronavirus cases after staff tested positive for the virus.
Carers at six of the region’s 22 care homes have tested positive for Covid-19 since June 22.
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But the authorities have not revealed which locations are affected.
They did however confirm that residents in these sites have to date tested negative for the disease.
It is a devastating blow for health chiefs, who were preparing to declare the vast majority of homes in the area covid-free.
No residents at any of the public or privately-owned outlets have either tested positive or displayed symptoms of the deadly virus for over two weeks.
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No new deaths have been recorded since June 10.
The new staff infections were revealed in a report to Renfrewshire Council’s Emergencies Board on Thursday.
A spokesman for Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership said residents who had been in contact with the six infected carers would be nursed in isolation for 14 days in line with national guidelines.
He said: “As of June 22, all care homes are providing weekly testing to their staff through the government social care portal.
“To date the weekly testing of staff has identified six asymptomatic staff members who have tested positive for Covid-19.
“These positive tests triggered outbreak testing of residents in six care homes and, to date, no residents have tested positive for Covid-19 following these tests.”
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Staff at the care homes will be closely monitoring residents in the coming weeks as it can take up to a fortnight for those with the disease to display symptoms.
News of the infections come as figures, released by the National Records of Scotland, show that the overall number of deaths in Renfrewshire care homes are now below the five-year average.
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A total of 113 people are now known to have died of Covid-19 in Renfrewshire care homes.
It is understood that up to 12 of the 22 care homes in the region have had residents diagnosed with the virus.
Elderslie Care Home, Kyle Court and Mosswood Care Home have all confirmed deaths, while veterans’ charity Erskine has seen deaths at both of its Bishopton sites.
