Care home coronavirus deaths have nearly tripled in a fortnight, damning official figures show as the disease makes a deadly resurgence in the sector.
The UK s national statistics body found 1,705 care home residents died from the virus in the week ending January 22, up from 661 a fortnight ago.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revealed care home residents make up almost a third of all Covid-19 fatalities.
There were 94,971 total deaths from the virus in England and Wales as of January 15, according to the ONS, 30,851 of which were in care homes (32.4 per cent).
Just 75 per cent of care home residents have been vaccinated against Covid, despite the vaccination scheme launching seven weeks ago.
Date from Public Health England (PHE) reveals that in the week to January 14, there were 977 outbreaks of respiratory conditions in care homes with 739 confirmed as Covid.