Relatives of people living in care homes in England will be able to visit over Christmas if they test negative for Covid-19, the government has said.
More than a million coronavirus tests will be sent to care homes over the next month to allow safe indoor visits. Visits will be able to happen across all tiers of coronavirus restrictions starting from today.
The health secretary said the move was possible due to "unprecedented strides" in testing technology and capacity.
Matt Hancock said: "The separation has been painful but has protected residents and staff from this deadly virus.
"I'm so pleased we are now able to help reunite families and more safely allow people to have meaningful contact with their loved ones by Christmas."
Strict restrictions have been placed on visits to care homes during the last eight months because of the pandemic.
In new guidance, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) says the "default position" is that visits should be enabled to go ahead in all tiers - unless there is an outbreak in the care home.
It adds that hand holding and hugging may be possible if other infection control measures are followed. It stresses the importance of visitors minimising contact as much as possible and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to help protect their loved ones.
More than a million quick-turnaround or "lateral flow" tests, which provide results in about 20 minutes without the need for a lab, are being sent out to England's 385 biggest care homes as part of the first phase of the rollout.
It is understood that all care homes will receive enough tests so they can provide visits by Christmas if safe to do so, with visits starting from today.
As well as the tests, an extra 46 million items of PPE will be sent to Care Quality Commission (CQC)-registered care home providers.
