ALL care home residents and staff with Covid-19 symptoms will be tested for coronavirus as laboratory capacity increases, the government has promised reports the BBC.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “determined” to ensure everyone who needed a test had access to one.

Care providers have been calling for more testing for weeks, with charities saying the virus is “running wild” amid outbreaks at more than 2,000 homes.

At the moment only the first five residents who show symptoms in a care home are tested, to determine whether there is an outbreak of the virus.

Providers have also complained that deaths among residents were being “airbrushed” out of official figures and demanded greater support for the industry.

Figures released on Tuesday revealed 12,107 people had died in hospital with the virus, an increase of 778 on the previous day.

And Office for National Statistics data, which includes every community death linked to Covid-19 in England and Wales, showed 406 such deaths registered up to 3 April had occurred outside of hospitals – 217 of them in care homes.

However, the total is expected to have increased since then.

Britain’s largest care home operator, HC-One, said the virus represented about one-third of all deaths at HC-One’s care homes over the last three weeks. And MHA, a charity which operates 131 homes, said it had recorded 210 coronavirus-related deaths to date.
Testing and why it matters

Mr Hancock said he would ensure anyone in a care home with symptoms of the virus, as well as any new care home residents being discharged from hospital into care, would be tested.

“Testing is key in our battle against coronavirus, and as part of our plan to prevent the spread and save lives we will ensure that everyone in social care who needs a test can have a test,” Mr Hancock said.