Specially trained units from the Texas National Guard will disinfect those facilities that have seen clusters of Covid 19 outbreaks. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also ordered every resident and staffer be tested.
George Linial is president and CEO of leading age Texas, a non-profit which represents Texas nursing homes. While he's pleased the state is paying attention to nursing homes, he says "anytime you bring any outside person in to a nursing home, you risk the virus being brought in inadvertently. You have to realize that 75% of nursing homes in Texas currently have not had a case. He says there are more than 12 hundred nursing homes in the state.The governor has directed the state to test every resident and staffer. Linial says that's not good enough. "This is just going to be a snapshot view. Literally a staff person could go out and contract the virus and come back two days after the testing is done and spread the virus."
Lineal is calling for access to what he calls universal testing. "We see this as a shorter term solution. Overall, we're going to need much greater access to testing if we want to reunite families with their loved one."He is also asking for more access to PPE.
