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COVID-19 outbreak detected at San Antonio drug treatment facility

36 employees, residents have tested positive in August

Residents at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in the 10900 block of Applewhite Road. (Joshua Saunders, KSAT)

SAN ANTONIO – Three dozen residents and employees of the Applewhite Recovery Center recently tested positive for COVID-19, according to Bexar County officials.

The cases were detected after a round of tests were conducted at the facility starting on Aug. 17, according to Jarvis Anderson, head of the county’s Community Supervision and Corrections Department.

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After testing 177 employees and residents, officials were notified of 21 positive cases. After an additional round of testing on Aug. 28, officials were notified of an additional 15 positive cases.

Thirty of those who tested positive were residents at the facility, while six were employees. Anderson did not specify how many of the cases were symptomatic or asymptomatic, but so far, none have been hospitalized.

“We are currently working with a San Antonio Metro Health epidemiologist who is assisting with the management of the situation,” Anderson said in a news release.

Residents who have been infected are isolated and their vitals are checked twice a day, along with oxygen levels if the resident complains of respiratory issues, officials said.

The county briefly suspended the transfer of Bexar County Jail inmates to the facility in April, but resumed after the coronavirus surge showed signs of improvement.

The facility on Applewhite Road is operated by CSCD and provides services for adult individuals placed on probation by courts in Bexar County and other counties throughout Texas.


About the Authors
Dillon Collier headshot

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

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