Matt Hancock blames infected staff for bringing Covid into care homes

Former health secretary claims cabinet reaction to Covid warning ‘was somewhat shrug shrug – essentially because they didn’t really believe it’

Andrew Woodcock
Political Editor
Friday 02 December 2022 18:55 GMT
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'You're making a habit of coming third': Deputy Commons speaker quips at Matt Hancock

Former health secretary Matt Hancock has blamed infected staff for bringing the Covid virus into care homes, which saw thousands of deaths of elderly residents during the pandemic.

In his diary of the coronavirus pandemic, serialised in the Daily Mail, Mr Hancock insisted that only a small proportion of cases – as few as 1.2 per cent – were caused by his decision to discharge patients from hospital without testing.

And he accused some care home bosses of “unscrupulously” using workers infected with the virus, in behaviour which he blasted as “scandalous”.

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