Texas moving in great direction with COVID-19 testing, reopening state's economy, officials say

SAN MARCOS, Texas - Texas has slowly begun to reopen over the past few weeks. Governor Greg Abbott and other state officials say Texas is moving in a great direction when it comes to testing and reopening the state’s economy.

“What we need to do, we need to just continue doing what we have been doing and that is to make sure we wear masks when possible, that we continue distancing practices, continue good hand hygiene practices,” said Abbott. "If we can do that, we can continue to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, while also opening up more businesses, allowing more people to get back to work."

Abbott says Texas is headed in a great direction and will continue to increase testing so the state's economy can continue to open up even more.

RELATED: Texas releases statewide online map for COVID-19 testing sites

“The number of people who were tested who test positive, that has been in a downward downtrend from mid-April all the way until today, and so if you just look at the numbers, they look very good for opening up,” said the Governor.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd says increased testing has and will continue to point officials to the COVID-19 hotspots, and then the state can assess those immediately.

“Those are really in three main focus areas: one is nursing homes and assisted living facilities, one is jails and prisons, and the other is meatpacking plants so the surge teams that Governor Abbott created and had us put out in the field are really focused in on those areas,” said Kidd.

RELATED: States accused of fudging or bungling COVID-19 case numbers to make things look better than they are

Recent reports show the Texas Department of State Health Services was reporting COVID-19 case numbers using a combination of diagnostic tests and antibody tests, which detect whether someone has had the virus in the past. This can result in misleading numbers.

“The information that I have is for about a 10 day period or so, during which some antibody tests were coming in, could have been a bit longer than that, though there was the inability for the counties to separate that out, as it was received by the State Department of State Health Services,” said Abbott.

SIGN UP FOR FOX 7 AUSTIN EMAIL ALERTS

That same report states the CDC was also combining test results. COVID-19 tests and antibody test results are now listed as separate numbers on the Texas Department of State Health Service's website.

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.