Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on covid-19 testing for people who have relatives in care homes; and when people will be able to visit those homes.

Anyone with suspected COVID-19 symptoms can access testing by using the self-referral portal. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

While we have recommended that care homes limit non-essential visits, we are clear that visits at the end of life are important both for the individual and their loved ones and should continue with appropriate infection control precautions.

We are aware that limiting visits in care homes is difficult for many families and residents who want to see their loved ones.

We are reviewing our policy on visitors and are looking to update our guidance shortly and continuing to explore how we support the sector.