AUSTIN — Two more people have tested positive for novel coronavirus at the Denton State Supported Living Center, bringing the total number of cases there to six, according to Denton County Public Health.

The new cases include one resident in their 40s and one resident in their 50s. Both are in hospital isolation, public health officials said.

State Rep. Lynn Stucky, R-Denton, said two people at the school had tested positive for the virus within the last 48 hours and they were being isolated. The patients are in addition to four cases at the center reported on Saturday.

“They are working hard there at the state school to reduce the chance of spread and isolating individuals,” Stucky said.

“They’ve been doing that since early March. They’re trying hard and we’ve got a good group out there working hard, but we have a very vulnerable population,” Stucky said. “It’s one thing to practice distancing in the general population, but it’s another when you’re at the state school where there are many individuals who need individual care.”

State-supported living centers provide care to Texans who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and are medically fragile or have behavioral problems. The center in Denton is one of 13 such facilities in Texas and the only one in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Texas Health and Human Services suspended nonessential visitation and on-campus events beginning March 13 at all centers statewide, according to Denton County Public Health.

The Denton State Supported Living Center is also screening employees for fever, expanding the use of masks and other personal protective equipment and monitoring residents for symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever, shortness of breath and cough. The center has more than 440 residents and more than 1,400 employees.

Angela Biggs, whose daughter lives at the center, said the direct care staff need to be equipped with protection and to be paid more.

“There’s a lot of what if questions coming from parents: ‘What if a lot of staff have to leave to care for their families. What if a lot of them get sick?’” Biggs said. Parents are dropping off gifts and food for both children and staff, she said. And they are ready to “get on the front lines” to help their children, who don’t know what is going on.

“We’re not able to comfort them,” she said. “We can’t go in unless our child is dying, and to me I think it’s backwards. We have a lot of value... what’s the difference between the staff working there, going home, getting groceries, being exposed to family members and going to work, versus a parent?”

News of the two new cases comes on the same day Denton County Judge Andy Eads ordered the county’s citizens to stay at home beginning Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. The order means residents can only leave home to shop for essentials and non-essential businesses must close.

Eads said “community spread” of the virus had reached Denton County, where the first cases of community transmission developed at the Denton State Supported Living Center.

Dr. Matt Richardson, director of Denton County Public Health, said the county is working to get more tests for patients with symptoms. He said the testing was dependent on the supply of tests, which the county did not have enough of. The county is working with the state and the private sector to get more tests, he said.

“It’s not as much as we would like, and yet the system has responded,” he said. “We’re not happy with the amount of testing that’s been available.”

Denton Mayor Chris Watts said local officials will send a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking for additional resources from the state to combat and contain the virus at the living facility.

Stucky said local officials are working with state to combat the virus and to reduce the chances of overwhelming the hospital system.

“We’re working very hard to do everything we can to flatten the curve,” he said. “We take it very seriously; it’s a very serious situation. We want everybody to participate in helping this thing slow down.”

CORRECTION, 10:37 a.m., Wednesday, March 25, 2020: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Denton Mayor’s name as Jim Watts. His name is Chris Watts.