SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s Note: Watch the entire briefing in the video player above. Newsletter recipients can click here to access the video.
On Thursday, Bexar County added 325 new COVID-19 cases, according to local officials.
Bexar County has seen 41,939 cumulative cases, and none of Thursday’s cases were backlogged. The 7-day average of new cases is at approximately 332.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said 12 more people have died of the virus, bringing the death toll to 406.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations continued a promising downward trend on Thursday.
Nirenberg said 801 Bexar County residents are hospitalized due to COVID-19, down from 817 on Wednesday. Of those patients, 345 are in the intensive care unit and 238 patients are on ventilators.
Nirenberg said 13% of staffed hospital beds and 50% of ventilators are available in Bexar County.
“This curve doesn’t go down nearly as fast as it goes up so keep that in mind,” Nirenberg cautioned.
The mayor said the city has now converted its data over to a new system. He said although labs may cause backlogs with their reporting in the future, the city’s current data is now up to date.
Dr. Junda Woo, assistant director of the Metropolitan Health District, said a new health directive for schools will be released Friday.
As Texans continue to take measures against the spread of COVID-19, there is another wave of infections they will soon have to worry about — the flu.
Flu season is around the corner, which has public health experts worried about its potential impact.
“That could be prolific,” Gov. Greg Abbott said after a roundtable with doctors and state officials in Dallas. “If that leads to greater hospitalizations, coupled with the hospitalizations that we’re seeing for COVID-19, you can easily see how hospitals in this region as well as across Texas will be completely overrun,” Abbott said.
Because of that, Abbott encouraged Texans to get their flu shot as early as September.
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