A senior living care home is pictured in Bagshot, England on April 14. Warren Little/Getty Images

As countries tackle their own devastating coronavirus outbreaks with varying levels of success, one troubling trend has emerged: a crisis in care homes.

Staff in long-term care facilities around the world are reporting a swath of undiagnosed cases, a lack of protective equipment, and a gap in the numbers with their residents’ deaths often going unreported.

In the UK, a group of social care charities said they are "appalled by the devastation which coronavirus is causing in the care system," in an open letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Hancock and the British government have faced intense scrutiny over the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to care workers, and for the fact that the government's official coronavirus death figures do not record those who pass away in care homes.

Pete Calveley, the chief executive of Barchester Healthcare, said on Thursday that cases of confirmed or suspected coronavirus in care homes are “far more widespread than has previously been acknowledged.”

His company is caring for 663 residents with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 in 118 of its 236 care homes, he said.

In Italy, an investigation has been launched into a string of health violations at elderly care homes across the country. 17% of the first 600 elder care homes to be inspected had failed to follow national coronavirus protocols, authorities said.

These violations included a lack of protective equipment for staff, and an absence of dedicated quarantine space to isolate suspected coronavirus patients. A total of 15 facilities have so far been closed and their patients relocated.

Meanwhile, in Canada, public health officials revealed that nearly half of all coronavirus deaths are among residents of seniors’ homes.

Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, has said she expects to see more deaths in the coming days even as the growth rate in positive Covid-19 cases continues to decline in some parts of Canada. There are dozens of outbreaks in long-term care facilities across the country and some have reported multiple deaths and infection rates of one quarter to one half of all residents.

On Saturday a criminal investigation was launched in a Montreal area seniors’ home after 31 residents died in less than a month. While five residents were confirmed Covid-19 cases, the cause of 26 other deaths is under investigation as Quebec officials said the owners concealed information including medical records.

Hundreds of Canadians have already pulled their relatives out of long-term care facilities but others say their relatives are too vulnerable to leave.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province is now dealing with outbreaks at nearly 100 long-term care facilities, said "he speaks from experience" as he described how his mother-in-law remained in an at risk seniors’ home in the Toronto area.