Shipdham Manor in Thetford has been revealed as the care home where 28 cases of the BA.2.86 variant were found.

News of the outbreak was initially revealed by the UKHSA on Friday which reported 34 cases of the new variant in England.

The NHS today began its accelerated roll-out of its Covid vaccination programme in care homes following the discovery of the new variant.

The 41-bed care home, which is operated by Healthcare Homes, provides respite and residential care for elderly people.

A spokesperson for Healthcare Homes said: “Shipdham Manor has been working with Norfolk County Council and the UK Health Security Agency following an outbreak of Covid at the home three weeks ago.

“The health and wellbeing of our residents is always our first concern and our staff were proactive in reporting the outbreak and working with the agencies concerned on a programme of testing.

“All our staff and residents have recovered well and many of those with positive tests had no symptoms at all. There are currently no positive cases in the home.

“The home was closed to new admissions for 10 days but reopened as normal on September 1.

“Our staff and residents are due to have their Autumn Covid Booster this month and we will continue with Covid monitoring in line with government guidelines and our own robust procedures.”