A federal rule announced Sunday will require nursing homes in the United States to report all cases of coronavirus directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and patients and families.

Disclosure has been spotty, with some facilities announcing cases and others offering little to no information to family members and the public. Almost a quarter of Alabama nursing homes have reported cases of COVID-19 among patients or staff members, according to the Alabama Nursing Home Association.

This weekend, Crowne Health Care of Mobile announced that 10 people had died and 94 tested positive in an outbreak of COVID-19. The virus transmits easily in buildings where many people live and work in close quarters.

Families seeking information about other outbreaks have not been able to receive information about specific facilities. The Alabama Department of Public Health and Alabama Nursing Home Association report only total numbers of cases.

The administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma, announced the new federal policy Sunday. She said nursing homes would become a focus for prevention as portions of the United States open back up for business.

“Nursing homes have been ground zero for COVID-19," Verma said. "Today’s action supports CMS’ longstanding commitment to providing transparent and timely information to residents and their families. Nursing home reporting to the CDC is a critical component of the go-forward national COVID-19 surveillance system and to efforts to reopen America.”

Late last week, Gov. Kay Ivey announced the mobilization of Alabama National Guard to disinfect and train staff in affected homes in the state. Despite efforts to limit visitation and isolate infected residents, the novel coronavirus has spread to dozens of buildings housing some of Alabama’s most vulnerable citizens.

At least 16 nursing home and assisted living residents and staff members across the state have died from COVID-19 as of last week. Hundreds have tested positive.