El Paso County Judge criticizes lack of health department virus data being publicly shared

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso County Commissioners shared their frustration Monday over what they claim is a lack of transparency regarding Covid-19 information and the way health officials are releasing it.

County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said Commissioners Court is not getting a full picture of how coronavirus is spreading in El Paso.

The judge maintains the missing information is crucial to formulate a strategy to combat the virus' spread.

Commissioner David Stout pointed to little, if any information, being shared by the health officials regarding specific areas where multiple cases of Covid-19 are reported.

Health leaders should be "trying to keep our media partners as informed as possible, so they can keep the public as informed as possible, especially when it comes to where there are clusters and large areas where we're seeing a lot of the outbreak," he said.

The El Paso Department of Public Health said it will not release specific information regarding clusters, or where groups of people test positive for coronavirus.