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New guidance paves the way for the first meaningful indoor visits for those without access to relatives since March. After relentless pressure by this newspaper, health bosses last night confirmed more than one million rapid tests and free PPE would be dispatched to thousands of homes over the next month. The first visits will start today.

Relatives have been advised to “minimise contact as much as possible to reduce the risk of transmission”.

Care Minister Helen Whately, who previously told how reading our stories of families denied access reduced her to tears, said: “There’s no denying how heartbreaking this year has been for so many and I’ve heard for myself the toll separation has taken on families and people living in care homes.

“We have to walk the difficult tightrope of protecting those who are most at risk from this terrible virus and protecting the mental and physical wellbeing of care home residents.

“Testing is not a silver bullet. No test can guarantee someone is completely free of the virus so we cannot rely on testing alone to reconnect loved ones. However, when combined with PPE and good infection control procedures, testing can help support safer, more meaningful visits.”

Ministers are backing the boost in testing capacity to allow visits inside care homes if they first receive a negative result.

Health chiefs think this will finally allow facilities which have denied access for months to strike a balance between infection control and the benefits of allowing visits.

Campaigners cautiously welcomed the announcement but issued a warning that some care homes would still refuse to allow families in, fearing litigation, and only allow visits to take place behind Perspex screens or at a distance.

They said many families would still be at the mercy of a postcode lottery unless local councils help get rapid testing and PPE rolled out to every one of the 15,600 care homes in England and Wales.

Jenny Morrison, whose national campaign group Rights for Residents forced the Government to act, said: “We welcome the new guidance as a positive step forward.

“Ministers seem to have listened to our pleas and have made a public commitment to reuniting families with their loved ones in care settings.We appreciate the move away from floor to ceiling screens and windows towards hugs and hand holding as a given.”

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