- 'Left without a life raft'
Opposition parties were less forgiving.
Liz Kendall, Labour's shadow social care minister, said: “This is the clearest admission yet that ministers did not give care homes the protection they needed at the start of this pandemic.
“Social care and the NHS are both equally important in the fight against this virus and are inextricably linked. One cannot be prioritized above the other.”
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said Buckland “let the cat out of the bag.”
"The idea that the Government threw a ‘protective ring’ around care homes from the start is simply not accurate. They made a choice and left care homes to fend for themselves.
“In making this decision, the Government left some of our most vulnerable people out at sea without a life raft, and they left care home staff without the PPE they so desperately needed,” he added, referring to personal protective equipment.
Since the virus emerged in China last December, more than 4.91 million cases have been reported in 188 countries and regions. The US, Europe, and Russia are currently the hardest-hit areas.
The pandemic has claimed nearly 324,000 lives worldwide, with more than 1.7 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.