SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s Note: Watch the entire briefing in the video player above. Newsletter recipients can click here to access the video.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff updated the community about the local response to COVID-19 in their daily briefing Sunday night. See the full video in the player above.
Here are a few of the highlights:
- Mayor Nirenberg reported 1,613 COVID-19 cases and 48 deaths in Bexar County, as of Sunday. This was an increase of 28 new cases. Thirteen new cases were confirmed at the Bexar County Jail, bringing the total at the facility to 235 cases.
- City officials also reported that 756 patients have recovered from COVID-19 so far. Fifty-nine patients are hospitalized, 34 are in the intensive care unit and 20 are on ventilators.
- Judge Wolff said the COVID-19 outbreak at the Bexar County Jail is still a cause for concern. As of Sunday, Wolff said of the current cases at the jail, 29 inmates are in the infirmary and five are very sick and in the hospital. A total of eight guards and 10 civilians have also tested positive for the virus. Wolff said the jail is continuing to segregate those infected, as there are currently over 3,000 inmates being housed at the facility.
- Nirenberg reiterated to residents that mask wearing when out in public is important. When you’re within six feet of someone not in your household, the mayor urges residents to wear their masks or face coverings. He said it does not replace social distancing; rather, it’s in addition to keeping six feet between yourself and others.
- Metro Health officials said although asymptomatic testing isn’t currently being utilized in the community, it could be something health officials look into going forward. For more information on where to get tested for the virus, click here.
- City officials said beginning this week, walk-up testing sites will be established in the community. Metro Health officials said neighborhoods in the area will be identified to have the mobile walk-up testing sites set up. No specifics were released on when exactly this is taking place or what areas will be evaluated.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March. The first case confirmed in the U.S. was in mid-January and the first case confirmed in San Antonio was in mid-February.
Read Bexar County’s updated executive order below. Newsletter recipients: Click here to read the order.
Read San Antonio’s updated executive order below. Newsletter recipients: Click here to read the order.
MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE FROM KSAT: