Texas will not release info about coronavirus clusters at state homes for Texans with disabilities
After two residents at a state-run home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Richmond tested positive for the new coronavirus, Fort Bend County officials announced publicly March 30 that they were launching an “epidemiological investigation” into the facility, vowing to test anyone who came into contact with the patients.
Since then, it’s been radio silence. There have been no additional public updates and no new cases announced. Asked about how many staff members and residents at the home are infected, local officials won’t say.
“We’re all asking questions about how many people have it,” said a parent of a resident at the Richmond center, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing their child would be penalized. “Families are getting angry. We’re not asking for residents’ names or dorms, we just want to know how many people are sick.”
None of the 13 state supported living centers — which house about 3,000 vulnerable Texans and employ 13,000 staff members — provided case counts to The Texas Tribune. Eleven of the centers did not respond, and two directed inquiries to state officials. The local health department in Denton County stands out as the lone agency providing daily updates about the cluster of cases at the Denton home.
Residents' families, restricted from visiting in an effort to stop the spread, are pleading for information. Even they aren’t being told how severe the outbreaks are where their loved ones live.
Texas officials, citing medical privacy laws, are refusing to disclose comprehensive data on the number of cases among staff and residents at state supported living centers, where 43% of residents are medically fragile and more vulnerable to COVID-19.
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/22/coronavirus-texas-sslc-disabilities/
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