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10,000 care home residents and staff offered repeat testing
The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that 10,000 residents and staff across over 100 care homes will be given coronavirus tests as part of a new surveillance study.
The study will see swab tests (known as a PCR test to test if a person currently has the virus) and blood (antibody) tests for all consenting staff and residents over the next year, to better provide reassurance for those living and working in care homes and allow them to react quickly to outbreaks.
The move forms part of pillar 4 of the government’s Covid-19 testing strategy to conduct UK-wide surveillance testing to learn more about the spread of the virus.
Minister for Care Helen Whately said: “We know care homes are on the frontline of our fight against coronavirus, with the virus affecting older people more acutely than the general population. Not only will this study provide important reassurance to thousands of residents and staff, it will also build our understanding of the rate of infection in care homes and add to our knowledge about the risk factors that mean the virus can affect individuals differently. The results of this study will help inform our future plans for managing the pandemic, to protect the public and those who receive care as we work to carefully return to normality.”
Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, added: “Care homes are the front line and this opportunity is welcome. This study is absolutely critical if we are to win the battle against Covid-19. There is still so much to learn about this virus; why some care homes have tested positive whilst displaying no symptoms or deaths and others have felt the full force of the brutality of this silent killer. The government’s study will help us understand the way in which this virus operates thus enabling us to be better prepared today, tomorrow and in the future.”
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