08.06.20
Covid-19 tests offered to care homes for over-65s or those with dementia
After a significant increase in testing capacity has been achieved, test kits have now been offered to every care home across England catering for over-65s or those with dementia.
Kits have been delivered to all eligible care homes who need them regardless of symptoms, covering nearly 9,000 settings.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We have now managed successfully to offer tests to every care home that is eligible, both for staff testing and for residents to be tested.
“What that means is that for about three-quarters of a million people living and working in nearly 9,000 eligible care homes, the tests have been delivered.”
Since the launch of whole care home testing, a total of 1,071,103 test kits have been provided by the Government to 8,984 care homes. Capacity has also been achieved to be able to distribute 50,000 tests a day.
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As well as test kits which have been directly dispatched to homes, tens of thousands of care home workers and residents have also been tested by Public Health England or at drive-through testing sites and mobile testing units around the country.
To ensure all homes had necessary support to test for coronavirus, the Government sent test kits to all eligible care homes unless they stated they did not wish to receive them. Test results for residents will be communicated to the care home managers.
It is hoped through testing asymptomatic workers and residents, the current coronavirus outbreak can be controlled, with those testing positive able to be isolated in a timely manner, as well as increasing strategic understanding of the virus’ spread and potential local hotspots.
This information will work in conjunction with the new NHS Test and Trace service which seeks to play an important role in limiting the spread of the virus, contacting those who test positive and their close contacts to ensure those either with the virus or at risk of having contracted it safely isolate.