AUSTIN, Texas – On Monday, Governor Greg Abbott ordered that all residents and staff members in nursing homes be tested for COVID-19. The plan was based on the guidance of Vice President Mike Pence and Doctor Deborah Birx.
“The State of Texas is working to rapidly expand our testing capacity—especially among vulnerable populations in Texas nursing homes,” said Gov. Abbott. “This important collaboration among HHSC, TDEM, and DSHS will ensure that any potential clusters of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are quickly detected and contained.”
This comes after several East Texas nursing homes have COVID-19 cases including one in Carthage which has 44 residents and 22 employees with the virus. They have also reported six deaths which are 85.7% of the deaths in Panola County.
In Lubbock, 232 of the 598 total cases were associated, as of Monday evening, with nursing homes. Lubbock has said in the past that a majority of COVID-19 deaths in Lubbock County are associated with nursing homes.
