The Bishopscourt retirement village in Dunedin will reopen today after an outbreak of gastroenteritis.
The outbreak comes after the illness hit Dunedin schools in May, when 30 pupils from one school were reported to have become sick.
A Bishopscourt resident rang the Otago Daily Times yesterday to say the rest home had been locked down after the outbreak, and raised concerns about residents' care.
Brigid London, operations general manager for Summerset, the company that runs Bishopscourt, confirmed residents had caught the illness.
Test results had confirmed it was not the highly contagious norovirus.
Ms London said the required infection control protocol was implemented immediately, and all necessary precautions were taken to ensure the safety of residents, families and staff.
The outbreak had been contained and the care centre would reopening today.
Ms London said Public Health South was also informed of the outbreak.
''During the outbreak, care centre residents were required to be in isolation to protect them from catching the bug.
''As a result of the necessary confinement, some of our care functions had to be reprioritised according to individual resident needs and in order to maintain infection protocols and keep residents and staff safe at all times.''
Ms London said all necessary care, including showering, was provided despite the infection protocols being in place, and at no time were ''safe staffing ratios'' compromised.
''The safety and wellbeing of our residents, their family and our staff are paramount.
''We understand being in isolation due to the outbreak of an infectious illness can be difficult and frustrating for residents and their families.''
Throughout the outbreak the company had been in regular communication with care centre residents and their families to keep them updated.
''We are yet to be advised of any concerns from residents or their families. However, we will be following up with them to explain in detail why we had to take these necessary steps.''
