Summary

  • Public hearings at the Covid-19 inquiry resumed today, looking at the impact of the pandemic on adult care services

  • Nearly 46,000 care home residents died with Covid in England and Wales between March 2020 and January 2022

  • Bereaved families say they have been waiting years for this moment, describing Covid's spread through care homes as one of the most devastating pandemic failures

  • We've ended our coverage of the UK's Covid inquiry for today

Live Reporting

  1. Covid inquiry hears of 'generational slaughter within care homes'

    Judith Burns
    Reporting from the inquiry

    The inquiry has now finished for the day. Here's a summary of what we've heard.

    A civil servant's assertion that there was a "generational slaughter within care homes" in the early days of the pandemic is a phrase that "chimes with the experience of thousands of our families", the Covid inquiry was told.

    Pete Weatherby, barrister for the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said the phrase might seem an exaggeration but it highlighted issues the inquiry must address.

    His opening statement came on the first day of the sixth part of the Covid inquiry which will focus on the impact of the pandemic on care services for elderly and disabled people.

    The government has said it is committed to learning lessons from the inquiry.

  2. What will this part of the inquiry look like?

    Judith Burns
    Reporting from the inquiry

    The inquiry is starting with an impact video from people who lived through the pandemic and lost loved ones.

    After that there will be opening statements from lawyers representing bereaved relatives, disabled people, care worker associations and organisations representing care providers as well as trade unions and local government.

    This is the first day of this part of the inquiry which is due to last for five weeks.

  3. Public hearings at Covid inquiry resume, looking at impact on adult care services

    Public hearings at the Covid-19 inquiry resume today, examining the impact of the pandemic on adult care services for elderly and disabled people.

    There are key questions families and care staff want answered - including why the decision was made in March 2020 to rapidly discharge some hospital patients into care homes.

    They blame this, in part, for seeding the virus into care homes in the early stages of the pandemic.

    The government says it supports the inquiry and is committed to learning lessons from it.

    We won't be bringing you regular text updates in this page, but you can follow the inquiry at the top of this page from 10:30 GMT - just click watch live.