By Press Association 2021
A woman writes in a heart on the National Covid Memorial Wall on the Embankment in London. (Victoria Jones/PA)
Groups supporting the bereaved relatives of care home residents who died during the coronavirus pandemic will seek to become core participants of the forthcoming public inquiry.
Two organisations – John’s Campaign and the Relatives & Residents Association (R&RA) – have told the Government they will apply for the status when the legal process allows.
The groups, represented by Leigh Day, are calling for the inquiry to start urgently to “provide answers to those whose lives have been most severely affected and to learn lessons before it is too late”.
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Editorial Relatives of the dead must be at the heart of Britain s Covid inquiry
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Meanwhile, draconian visiting restrictions mean many of the UK’s 400,000 care home residents are still struggling to see loved ones.
Since ‘Freedom Day’ on Monday, residents have been allowed unlimited visitors as long as they test negative and wear PPE.
But infection-control procedures mean the best most families can hope for is a pre-booked 30-minute visit once a week. Some have the time measured by an egg-timer.
Government guidelines also state visitors should be banned for two weeks if any staff or residents test positive for Covid.
With cases rising, growing numbers of homes are once again shutting their doors.