Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the equity of quarantine requirements for care home staff and care home residents following visits home.

Staff are essential workers required to provide care for residents. They are regularly tested for Covid-19 and use personal protective equipment while working. Residents who have visited out are asked to isolate to prevent risk of COVID-19 transmission in a closed setting at high risk of outbreaks with severe consequences. The additional risk posed by returning residents in contrast to staff coming into work, is that for residents, the care home is the full-time home – they generally move freely around the home and do not wear personal protective equipment. When the data shows it is safe, the Government wants to go further and allow more visits for more people to take place outside of the care home.