Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of personal protective equipment guidance on the spread of COVID-19 in care homes, and in particular guidance for looking after residents who are not in the very vulnerable category and who are not displaying symptoms of COVID-19. [T]

During the current period of sustained transmission of COVID-19, we recommend the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) regardless of whether residents in care homes have symptoms or not.

Working with care sector representative bodies, Public Health England (PHE) published tailored guidance COVID-19 How to work safely in care homes on 17 April, as well as a specialised training video demonstrating the donning and doffing of PPE in care home settings. The PHE guidance also provides tables on when and which PPE to use. A copy of the guidance is attached.