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 Friday night.
Nirenberg reported 54,195 total COVID-19 cases and 1,073 total deaths in Bexar County, as of Friday, an increase of 224 new cases. No new deaths were reported today.
The 7-day moving average of cases is 162.
City officials also reported that 225 patients are hospitalized, 83 are in the intensive care unit and 36 are on ventilators. There are 12% of staffed beds available and 72% of ventilators available.
Nirenberg corrected a statement he made during Thursday’s briefing that antigen tests were only being counted in San Antonio and one other county. He said that is not the case, and a number of local governments in Texas are counting those positive tests.
Dr. Colleen Bridger, interim Metro Health director and assistant city manager, said the state’s counts for deaths and school COVID-19 cases are higher than the county’s because they are not independently verified. She said Metro Health verifies that a student actually got a COVID-19 test and was learning on campus when they tested positive.
She said residents should look to Metro Health’s numbers for more accuracy.
Bridger and Nirenberg confirmed the city is hosting a convention with about 1,300 attendees this weekend. Bridger said many measures are in place to reduce the spread of the virus. “It is as safe as we can be for this event," she said.
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