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 72,313 total COVID-19 cases and 1,316 total deaths in Bexar County, an increase of 936 new cases as of Friday. Seven new deaths were reported today.
The 7-day moving average of cases is 399.
Nirenberg said Metro Health will be sending an emergency alert to residents at 7 p.m. Friday to alert them about the spike and what they can do to stay safe. He said this is the first time a caseload this high has been reported since mid-July.
City officials also reported that 444 patients are hospitalized, 141 are in the intensive care unit and 66 are on ventilators. There are 10% of staffed beds available and 70% of ventilators available.
Nirenberg said there were 62 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. He also said there are currently 65 COVID-19 patients from El Paso in San Antonio hospitals.
Dr. Colleen Bridger, assistant city manager and interim Metro Health director, gave some context to help people understand the case numbers during the briefing. She said the majority of the new cases are reported between a 10-day period.
Bridger says the most important figure to look at is the 7-day rolling average, which gives a better understanding the caseload throughout the week.
She also said the city is testing more now than it did during the peak in May when there were more than 1,000 people in the hospital every day, which is good because it can help with contact tracing and controlling the spread.
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