By It is almost a year since the initial lockdown began, and many care home residents have hardly seen their families.
Visits were distanced from June until December, but in the run-up to Christmas, relatives were allowed to embrace and hold hands.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed that “around two-thirds” of social care staff have so far received a vaccine.
The number of deaths in care homes from COVID-19 has fallen for the third week in a row, latest figures reveal.
According to data from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), 893 coronavirus deaths were reported by England’s care homes in the week ending 12 February – down from 1,386 deaths reported the week before.
ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “Whilst [the] figures are certainly a move in the right direction, we have to remain on our guard.
“There is understandably an increasing call for restrictions to be relaxed but we have to be cautious and not come out of lockdown too quickly as I think we have done before.
“I think people would rather this was the last lockdown and so restrictions should be eased slowly and safely to avoid the figures going up again.”
Boris Johnson is urged to scrap the ban on care home visits by March to give a ray of hope to the elderly who have been cut off from their loved ones.
A coalition of charities banded together to write an open letter to the PM calling on him to allow visits by relatives from the beginning of March ‘for the sake of humanity’.
The charities, including Age UK and the National Care Forum, say this is having a devastating effect on their mental health. And they insist that, with virus cases falling, now is the time to consider allowing visits.
The letter told Mr Johnson: ‘We are writing to you today to implore you to include a commitment to reopening care homes to visiting by essential care givers on March 1 within the ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown you are reported as being due to publish on or around February 22.
‘For hundreds of thousands of older people living in care homes and their families – in many cases kept apart now for almost a year – this is the ray of hope they are longing for. Please give it to them.’
