Boris Johnson today admitted at least 275 healthcare workers have died with coronavirus in a 'deeply horrifying' official death toll.
The Prime Minister said there have now been 144 NHS workers and 131 social care workers whose deaths involved Covid-19.
Campaigners say the true figure is likely to be far higher. And it does not include other frontline workers like Belly Mujinga - a railway worker who died after being spat at.
Mr Johnson told Prime Minister's Questions: “The fact she was abused for doing her job is utterly appalling.
"My thoughts and I'm sure the thoughts of the whole house are with her family.”
The PM today announced another £600m of funding to tackle infection control in care homes. He gave no further detail immediately.
He insisted infections and deaths in care homes are now "seeing an appreciable and substantial reduction" - and said it was too early to compare to other countries.
But he admitted: "I’m not going to try to pretend to the house that the figures when they are finally confirmed are anything other than stark and deeply, deeply horrifying.
"This has been an appalling epidemic.”
Official figures show the number of Covid-19 related deaths in care homes fell slightly in England and Wales - from 2,794 in the week to April 24, to 2,423 in the week to May 1.
But more than a third of all deaths in care homes in the week to May 1 involved Covid-19.
And official figures show male social care workers are more than twice as likely to die from coronavirus as an average member of the population.
Tests for the virus in care homes were severely limited until April 15, when the government widened capacity.
Before then there was not routine testing for care home staff with symptoms - or even for patients discharged into care homes from hospital.
Labour leader Keir Starmer quoted a cardiologist who said Covid-19 carriers were discharged into care homes - without warning or protective equipment.
The cardiologist said: “We actively seeded this into the very population that was most vulnerable”.
Boris Johnson claimed: “Actually the number of discharges from hospitals into care homes went down in March and April.
“We had a system of testing people going into care homes and that testing is now being ramped up.”
But the PM have no evidence for his claim.
And he claimed - falsely - that the government had not told care homes there was a low risk.
Sir Keir said: "Earlier this year, and until 12 March, the Government's own official advice was, and I'm quoting from it, 'it remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home will become infected'."
Mr Johnson said: "It wasn't true that the advice said that."
Yet the government's advice on February 25, since withdrawn in March, clearly said: "It remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected."
Sir Keir today wrote to the Prime Minister demanding he correct the record.
Labour's leader said: "At this time of national crisis, it is more important than ever that Government ministers are accurate in the information they give.
"Given this, I expect you to come to the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity to correct the record and to recognise that this was official Government guidance regarding care homes.
"I am copying this letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons."
But the PM's press secretary refused to back down - accusing Labour's leader of "inaccurately and selectively" quoting from Public Health England's guidance.
He told a Westminster briefing that Sir Keir omitted the preceding sentence, which said the advice was "intended for the current position in the UK where there is currently no transmission of COVID-19 in the community".
He added: "I think what's actually happened is that the Leader of the Opposition has inaccurately and selectively quoted from the Public Health England guidance and that is what the PM was referring to."
Labour leader Keir Starmer also warned there were 10,000 "unexplained" deaths in care homes.
Sir Keir said the number of care home deaths from all causes in England and Wales was around 26,000 in April - more than three times the average of 26,000.
But he told Mr Johnson: "Only 8,000 are recorded as Covid deaths. That leaves 10,000 additional and unexplained care home deaths this April."
Despite a direct question, the PM offered no explanation of why those residents - who have many underlying health issues - died.
“I was disappointed that the Prime Minister doesn’t have an answer to the pretty obvious question of what are those 10,000 unexplained deaths," he said.
