AUSTIN (KXAN) — New numbers from the state show 236 Texas nursing homes have confirmed at least one positive case of COVID-19 among their residents and staff.
That number is down nearly 50 cases from the last round of data reported by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, but not because the virus isn’t spreading in these vulnerable facilities.
For the last few weeks, HHSC has been releasing the number of facilities with “one or more COVID-19 positive residents and/or facility staff.” Then on Monday, a spokesperson for HHSC clarified the numbers previously released had also included presumed-positive cases or suspected cases.
“Facilities that had reported presumptive or suspected cases to HHSC that tested negative have been eliminated from the counts above,” the spokesperson’s email read.
HHSC also reported 87 assisted living facilities have at least one positive case.
On Monday, HHSC also confirmed 395 nursing and assisted living facility residents have died (317 and 78 deaths, respectively). On April 30, HHSC reported 290 deaths in these facilities.
That means in just 5 days, more than 100 deaths from COVID-19 were reported in these homes.
The state will still not report the locations of the facilities with deaths or positive cases, despite mounting pressure from lawmakers and families. KXAN has been asking for that information for more than a month.