Police are investigating claims some staff at a "luxury" Ryton care home breached Covid-19 rules by staging a late-night drinking session.
A source told ChronicleLive that some staff at Ryton Towers had been drinking when officers arrived on Saturday night.
An investigation has been launched to establish whether staff flouted the North East's tough Tier 3 rules.
Care home management praised staff for their "professionalism and dedication" during what they say was a "difficult year".
British care homes have been battered by the killer bug.
Although staff can work alongside each other, existing rules mean that once a shift is over those from different households should not socialise indoors.
Northumbria Police confirmed officers arrived at around 11.30pm on Saturday following a report of a suspected breach.
Welburn Care Homes, which operates the facility, said it was taking those allegations seriously.
In a statement, the firm said: "At Wellburn Care Homes, we pride ourselves on extremely high standards across all our care homes to ensure we keep our residents safe.
"Following a tough year, our record has been exemplary throughout and our staff have and continue to show remarkable levels of professionalism and dedication.
"We are aware there is an allegation of an isolated incident at our Ryton Towers care home in Gateshead.
"We take this very seriously and so we are currently conducting a thorough internal investigation to establish the facts,.
"We are also cooperating fully with Public Health England and relevant parties.
"Our teams continue to follow the Government guidelines diligently and are taking every measure possible to keep both themselves and our residents safe.".
The claims come amid an explosion in the Gateshead village's infection rate.
Government data shows Covid-19 cases in Ryton increased by 300% last week.
And the Gateshead borough has now overtaken Newcastle as the area with the region's fastest rising rate.
Cases shot up by 32.8% in the week ending December 17.
In that same week in Ryton, there were 20 cases.
In the seven days prior, there were five.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “We can confirm officers attended a care home in Whitewell Lane, Ryton, on Saturday at about 11.30pm, following a report of a suspected breach of Covid-19 legislation.
“The matter is now being investigated further by ourselves, Gateshead Council and Public Health.
“We would urge everyone to follow the legislation and guidance which is in place to help protect our communities from Coronavirus.”
Advertising itself as a "luxury residential care home", Ryton Towers is a former 19th century manor house, set across two acres of land in the village.
A 2018 Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection rated it as 'Good'.
In a statement, the watchdog added: "We are aware of a report of an incident at a care home in Whitewell Lane, Ryton.
"We have engaged with the care home’s leadership about the issues raised and continue to monitor the service closely.”
