London, April 20 (TIWN) New data has revealed that the number of coronavirus deaths in UK care homes may be far higher than those recorded so far, it was reported on Sunday.

The National Care Forum (NCF) estimates that more than 4,000 elderly and disabled people have died across all residential and nursing homes.  Its report comes amid calls for accurate data on virus-linked deaths.  Only 217 such care home deaths have been officially recorded in England and Wales up to 3 April.  The NCF, which represents not-for-profit care providers, said its findings highlight significant flaws in the official reporting of coronavirus-related death statistics.  How deadly is the coronavirus? It collected data from care homes looking after more than 30,000 people in the UK, representing 7.4% of those people living in one of the country's thousands of care settings.  It said that, across those specific homes, in the week between 7 April and 13 April, there had been 299 deaths linked to coronavirus. That was treble the figure for the previous week and double that in the whole of the preceding month.  If that number was reflected across all residential and nursing homes, NCF estimated there have been 4,040 coronavirus-related deaths in care homes which are not yet included in official figures.  Meanwhile, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has denied reports the government has drawn up a graduated plan to start easing the lockdown within weeks.  Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky News, he said: "It is the case that we are looking at all of the evidence, but we have set some tests which need to be passed before we can think of easing restrictions in this lockdown."  Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said "no decision has been made" on when schools in England, which were closed on 20 March, will reopen.  Responding to a report in the Sunday Times suggesting some pupils could return in early May, he tweeted: "I can reassure schools and parents that they will only reopen when the scientific advice indicates it is the right time to do so."  But addressing claims in the same paper that ministers had failed to prepare properly for the outbreak, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said there were "serious questions about the government's immediate response to this pandemic and whether they were too slow to act".