Just 1pc of the total masks, aprons and gloves distributed by government so far have gone to care homes and providers, according to the latest figures.
Downing Street said this lunchtime that 7.8m items of ‘personal protective equipment’ has been sent to more than 26,000 care settings, which would average out at fewer than 300 each.
Social care insiders say between 50 and 100 masks can be used on one infected resident per day, however, as concerns over deaths in the care sector grow.
The total figure for PPE sent out by the government to the social care sector accounts for 1pc of the 761m total nationally, the bulk of which has been sent to the NHS.