As the number of Covid-19 cases in hospitals decrease, executive ministers are admitting that the new battleground in this pandemic is care homes.
Figures released yesterday by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) show the awful extent of deaths among our older and most vulnerable citizens.
A total of 516 deaths involving Covid-19 have been recorded on death certificates up until May 1.
Of the 115 deaths from April 25 to May 1, 39 occurred in hospital, 71 in care homes, one in a hospice and four at home.
Overall, the Nisra figures indicate there have been 232 Covid-related deaths in care homes, which is 45 per cent of the total.
However, we do not know how many of those who died in hospital had been transferred from a nursing home. Nor do we know how many residents or care home staff have tested positive for coronavirus.
Indeed, there is a lot we do not know about the situation in care homes despite the fact that we are now almost two months into a lockdown and there have been around 4,000 positive cases of coronavirus across Northern Ireland.
After a considerable gap, we are now getting official figures on the department of health dashboard but they do not tell anywhere near the whole story.
In recent days there have been reports of individual nursing homes suffering distressingly high death rates but this sort of relevant and specific information is not being put on the public record.
From the earliest days of this crisis concerns were raised about the protection of the elderly and frail with care homes recognised as a particularly high risk environment.
Even with these fears, there were persistent issues around the supply of personal protective equipment and access to testing.
Health minister Robin Swann is stepping up support for care homes and that is absolutely essential. Meanwhile, deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill yesterday called for regular testing of residents and staff.
This is a desperately worrying time for relatives who have been unable to visit their loved ones.
They need to know that this virus is being brought under control and every measure possible is being deployed to keep our vulnerable citizens safe.
