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.
Source: Texas leaves families in the dark over coronavirus in state-run homes / GoSanAngelo