In last year’s first wave, the North West had the highest number of death notifications to the Care Quality Commission as the virus raged in the region. There was a similar picture in the South East when the second wave peaked last winter. The CQC figures, from April 10 2020 and March 31 2021, also show that large care homes – those with 50 beds or more – tended to report the most deaths.

       Kate Terroni, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care, said it waited before publishing “given the complexity and sensitivity of the data”. She added many “did not die in or contract Covid in a care home”.

       The Health Foundation said the figures show government claims of placing “a protective ring” around such homes “was not grounded in reality”.

       Care England, a trade body, said: “We do not believe that this data is a reflection of quality.”

       Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s charity director, said it shows that the worst-affected homes were “more a tragic accident of geography than anything else”.