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:
- Nirenberg reported 1,901 COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths in Bexar County, as of Sunday. No new cases were confirmed at the Bexar County Jail, where 303 inmates and 55 staff members have tested positive so far. Fourteen new cases were reported and eight were from the community.
- City officials also said that 61 patients are hospitalized, 37 are in the intensive care unit and 22 are on ventilators. A total of 976 patients have recovered so far.
- The Rustic and The Lion and Rose British Restaurant and Pub at The Rim were both ordered to close after violating the city’s emergency declaration, confirmed by Nirenberg. He said bars are not allowed to open yet and if restaurants are earning more than 51% of sales from alcohol, they are considered a bar and should not be operating. Nirenberg said the city has received calls reporting violations and some citations have been issued, but overall, many businesses are cooperating.
- No new cases were reported at the Bexar County Jail on Sunday. Wolff said 800 coronavirus tests were administered and 478 tested negative. Out of those that have tested positive, 49 have recovered, around 40 are being treated in the infirmary and one has succumbed to the virus, Nelson said.
- Wolff said he is optimistic at the progress San Antonio has made so far in its battle with COVID-19. He said it’s important that residents spend more time with family, be out in their neighborhoods and spend less time on technology. “We may learn a lot from this and hopefully we’ll carry that forward," he said.
- With many having to keep their distance from their mothers this year on Mother’s Day, city leaders did have some words of encouragement. Nirenberg said he hopes this will be a short-lived pandemic and that it’s important we listen to our mothers and follow health guidelines. “Moms raise us to expect the unexpected and to deal with the cards that we are dealt... This is one of those times where health and life depend on doing so.”
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.
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