Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they first started testing all care home staff for COVID-19 in England.

The Department began piloting testing of care homes on 1 May 2020 and launched the care home portal to allow care home managers to order tests for all staff and residents on 11 May. The whole care home portal was expanded to all adult care homes, including care homes for adults with learning disabilities or mental health issues, for all care home residents and care home staff, regardless of symptoms, on 7 June.

Regular retesting for residents and staff of care homes for over 65 year olds and dementia commenced from 6 July. This included weekly testing for staff and every 28 days for residents. All remaining adult care homes were able to apply for retesting from 31 August.