Villagers caught up in a coronavirus outbreak say that they are going “stir crazy” in isolation.

Harry Shukman, Countryside Correspondent The Times 11 March 2020

Churston Ferrers in south Devon is the unlikely location of two confirmed cases of the virus; one at the local grammar school and another in the church.

The county has been identified as a coronavirus hotspot, with 13 people testing positive for the virus even though it is ranked among the ten least populous in the country. It is matched with Kensington and Chelsea in London for cases, according to Public Health England (PHE), which said that the worst affected region was Hertfordshire, with 16 cases.

St Mary the Virgin church closed when a member of its 50-strong congregation tested positive on March 1. It is due to reopen on March 22 after a deep clean. Kim, a parishioner who declined to give her surname, said that she had attended a service with an infected worshipper, whom she said she did not know although they were believed to have recently returned from a holiday abroad. Kim is in self-isolation at home in the village but has not shown any symptoms.

Churston Ferrers Grammar School closed for a week when one of its pupils who returned from a holiday in northern Italy tested positive for the virus. It reopened on Monday. A “relatively small number” of pupils are in self-isolation and participating in classes via video link, David Lewis, the deputy head, said. He added that anxiety about the reopening was “understandable” but that it had been deep-cleaned according to PHE guidelines.

Villagers said they felt like they had lost a game of “Russian roulette” in having two cases of coronavirus.

Norman Sharan, 88, a novelist who lives opposite the church, said: “I am very worried. A lot of us are elderly here. We are being very careful. My wife and I have bought proper masks and hand gel and when we go to the shops we wear surgical gloves. We were a bit horrified that the school had a case.”

Maggie Miller, 66, who lives with her husband Bill, 70, said: “My husband is diabetic so we cannot risk going out. It’s like a nightmare.”

It is believed that people with diabetes have an increased risk of infection.

“We are not going out or seeing friends. We are just cycling around for exercise. It’s quite depressing,” Mrs Miller said. “We are all going stir crazy. At least we have each other. I have been ringing my friends who live alone to make sure they have some company.”