More than 4,000 social care workers and 10,000 care home residents have been tested for coronavirus so far, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said this morning.
The health secretary’s comments came after social care directors wrote to the Department of Health and Social Care, on Saturday, calling the government’s handling of protective equipment for care workers “shambolic”.
In the letter, seen by the BBC, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services criticised the approaches to funding, testing, personal protective equipment and the shielding scheme for vulnerable people.
The government has also come under fire over how long it has taken to increase testing capacity in general.
Hancock said that in total there was, as of Thursday, “capacity for 25,000 tests” to be carried out a day in the UK and that “what really matters” is the availability of testing for social care.
He said there had now been 27 verified deaths of NHS staff. Responding to the death of nurse Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, he said: “We’re all deeply touched by deaths of nurses like this.”
