Abbott directs all nursing home residents, staff to be tested for COVID-19

AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott is directing all residents and staff of Texas nursing homes to be tested for COVID-19.

Abbott directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to develop and implement a plan based on the guidance of Vice President Mike Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx.

"The State of Texas is working to rapidly expand our testing capacity—especially among vulnerable populations in Texas nursing homes," said 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."

The directive comes after the White House strongly recommended to governors Monday that all nursing home residents and staff be tested for the coronavirus in the next two weeks.

Why the government is not ordering testing at the nation's more than 15,000 nursing homes was unclear. Nor was it clear why it is being recommended now, more than two months after the nation's first major outbreak at a nursing home outside of Seattle that eventually killed 43 people.

RELATED: White House recommends tests for all nursing home residents

More than 26,000 residents and staff have died from COVID-19 outbreaks at the nation's nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to an AP tally based on state health departments and media reports. That is about a third of all 76,000 deaths in the U.S. attributed to the virus.

Nursing home operators have said the lack of testing has left them nearly powerless to stop the virus from entering their facilities because they haven't been able to identity silent spreaders among already sick residents and staff not showing symptoms.

SIGN UP FOR FOX 7 AUSTIN EMAIL ALERTS

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST INFO ON THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

FOX 7 Austin is working to keep you up to date with coronavirus, with both local and national developments. Every weekday we're live at 12 p.m. with a special show reporting the latest news, prevention tips and treatment information.

You can watch live in your FOX 7 Austin app or on the FOX 7 Austin Facebook page.

You can also get the latest COVID-19 news from around the country at coronavirusnow.com.