San Antonio’s coronavirus trends remain low — 162 new cases, one death reported - San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio and Bexar County continue to have a low trajectory of recent coronavirus infections, reporting a modest number of 162 newly diagnosed cases Friday.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg also announced one new death — that of a man in his 50s who died at home.

Since the pandemic began in March, 50,587 local residents have tested positive for the virus and 1,025 have died. An additional 208 deaths reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services remain under investigation by the city’s Metropolitan Health District.

One positive note — 95 percent of San Antonio and Bexar County residents who tested positive for the virus in the past six months have recovered. That amounts to 48,044 people.

“An incredible effort has been made over the last two to three months because the citizens really began to pay attention,” County Judge Nelson Wolff said. “Please continue to do what we’ve preached over and over, which is the social distance, wearing the face masks and sanitation.”

On Friday evening, 218 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, were being cared for in San Antonio hospitals — a relatively low number when compared with the staggering peaks seen in July, when more than 1,200 coronavirus patients a day were hospitalized.

Among those now hospitalized, 99 are in intensive care units — the first time that number has dipped below 100 in three months, Nirenberg said. Meanwhile, 43 patients were on ventilators to help them breathe.

Some 13 percent of staffed patient beds remain available at San Antonio hospitals, while 68 percent of ventilators in stock are ready for use.

Local ambulance transports of patients suffering from probable cases of COVID-19 have declined to minimal levels, Metro Health statistics show.

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“I do want to take a moment to remind you how important it is to answer your phone if you get a call from one of our contact tracers,” Nirenberg said Friday. “Otherwise, how would you know if you had been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19? That phone call could be what stops you from unknowingly spreading the disease to people close to you — your friends, your family, co-workers.”

Of the Bexar County Jail’s nearly 4,000 inmates, only nine are currently testing positive for the virus, Sheriff Javier Salazar said.

“Because of our very strong, forward-leaning stance on COVID, we got in front of it early, and we started our mass testing,” Salazar said, noting that nearly 8,000 inmates have been tested for the virus throughout the pandemic.

“We hit our peak in mid-May,” he said. “It’s been coming down. ... Today, we finally hit single digits.”

Ten Bexar County sheriff’s deputies have the virus, Salazar said, most of them assigned to the jail.

Around 3,000 to 4,000 newly diagnosed cases turn up each day across Texas, according to the state health department’s COVID-19 dashboard. That’s a big change from July, when the numbers were topping 10,000 each day.

On Friday, the state reported only 123 fatalities for the previous 24-hour period. Since the pandemic began six months ago, nearly 15,000 Texans who caught the virus have died.

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Bexar County ranks fourth among Texas counties that have experienced the most cases of the coronavirus, the state dashboard shows. Bexar is outranked only by Harris, Dallas and Tarrant counties, respectively.

Bexar County places third among Texas counties with the most fatalities resulting from the virus, with only Harris and Hidalgo counties seeing larger death tolls, according to state health department statistics.

Officials in Comal County, where New Braunfels is the county seat, reported one new coronavirus-related death and 10 new cases of the virus Friday. The latest victim was a man in his 30s from New Braunfels who died at home, they said.

Since the pandemic began, 3,280 Comal County residents have tested positive for the virus, while 116 have died.

Residents seeking COVID-19 tests can call Comal County’s dedicated hotline at 830-221-1120 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Peggy O’Hare covers demographics, the census and occasionally crime and general assignment stories in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Peggy, become a subscriber. pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: @Peggy_OHare

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San Antonio’s coronavirus trends remain low — 162 new cases, one death reported - San Antonio Express-News
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