A SIXTH resident has died from coronavirus in a care home on Skye, the home's operator has said.
HC-One confirmed today that another resident had passed away at Home Farm care home.
More than 50 residents and staff tested positive for coronavirus last week, leading to a military testing centre being set up on the island.
A spokesman for HC-One said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families who have lost loved ones from coronavirus and we are doing our utmost to support them during this difficult time.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: 28 of 34 residents at Skye care home test positive
"Caring for our residents and supporting our colleagues is at the heart of what we do, and we are doing everything we can to make sure our residents and colleagues stay safe and well throughout these challenging times."
The spokesman added that contingency plans are in place, as drawn up by the group's clinical director.
To counter the effect of staff being forced to self-isolate, HC-One said support was "being drawn from our other Scottish homes, the senior regional team, and from our partners at NHS Highland".
Care homes have been the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Scotland, with a report published by National Records of Scotland on Wednesday showing 59% of deaths from the virus occurred in care homes last week.
The spokesman concluded: "We are proud of our colleagues and their courage in rising to the coronavirus outbreak by showing huge dedication and commitment to our residents.
"We are providing round-the-clock support for all our teams and we are also grateful to relatives for their ongoing support and understanding."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here