A public consultation saw 95% of respondents agree that the offer of free protective equipment should be extended.

Members on the frontline are describing the situation as ‘grim, difficult and relentless’, the National Care Forum said.

Those affected should be able to claim compensation in recognition of the “potentially devastating impact” on their lives, an Ombudsman said.

Experts compared the care home sector to a ‘Wild West’ without rights as they told MPs and peers about the impact of visiting restrictions.

Witnesses told the Commons Home Affairs Committee how they suffered memory blanks, lost control of their bodies and were ‘violently ill’.

New data covers the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in England and is thought to be one of the largest analyses of care home residents.

Some 57% of adults told the Office for National Statistics they had taken a lateral flow test in the past seven days.

Some 852 deaths were registered in the week to December 24 where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, up from a previous total of 591.

There were 1,126 acute respiratory infection incidents reported in care homes in the week to January 2, official figures show.

It comes as weekly figures from NHS England show that more than a fifth of adults in some parts of the country have not had a first vaccine dose.

Almost nine million adults have not yet had their booster, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week.

The Prime Minister said a ‘voluntary approach’ to vaccination will remain in the UK, compared with other countries’ ‘coercion’.

The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services said providers were reporting workforce absences of between 5% and 10%.

A coalition of groups has written to local health and care leaders calling on them to ensure that care home visiting restrictions are proportionate.

The ONS said 591 deaths registered in the week ending December 24 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate – the sixth consecutive weekly fall.

Mike Padgham of ICG has called for retired nurses, doctors, and carers to come forward to help struggling social care services.

Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, has called for staff to be prioritised when PCR tests are processed.

The TV medic said losing weight is ‘as important as giving up smoking’ as he marked the launch of a new Government-backed campaign.

Some 53% of black children were living in poverty in 2019-20, up from 42% in a decade earlier, according to analysis of Government statistics.

The Government’s decision to relax immigration rules on care-worker jobs follows a recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee.