The Royal Hospital Chelsea has announced it has lost nine of its residents to the Covid-19 pandemic. The retirement home for British military veterans, which has 290 residents, made the announcement ahead of VE Day on Friday. It revealed five of the deaths occurred in the home, while four died while receiving hospital treatment elsewhere. A total of 58 of its residents, known as Chelsea Pensioners, have recovered from the disease. Gen Sir Adrian Bradshaw, governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, said: “Most of our pensioners have risked their lives serving our nation through war and conflict somewhere in the world, just as our NHS staff and care workers are providing vital and sometimes dangerous service to the nation here at home during this Covid crisis. “We salute all those working in the health and care sectors at this time and we understand only too well the difficulties that they face.” Bradshaw said the hospital now has the capacity to test all those who show symptoms of the disease, as well as all those living and working in the same accommodation areas. He added that the hospital will be marking VE Day “in a manner appropriate to the current situation”. “We will reflect on the debt that we owe to those who served the nation in every capacity during the second world war in Europe … Especially, as we are a home for veterans, we will remember those who were in our armed forces,” he said. Bradshaw said the veterans will enjoy some “internal, socially-distant events”, but these will be “against the backdrop of the recent losses we have suffered”. Following the announcement, nearby Chelsea FC tweeted: “All of us at Chelsea Football Club send our deepest condolences to the family, friends and all those who are associated with the Chelsea Pensioners, following today’s sad news.”