5 new deaths, 341 more cases in Bexar

The number of fatalities on the July 4 holiday was the highest 1-day total here since April

The coronavirus continued to exact a deadly toll locally on the Fourth of July as officials reported five new deaths and 341 new cases.

Saturday’s death count was the highest for a single day in

Bexar County since mid-April. In all, 122 people have died of COVID-19 in Bexar since the start of the pandemic in March.

The confirmed new cases brought the county’s total to 14,553. That’s an increase of more than 4,900 compared with a week earlier.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg took to

Twitter to exhort residents to don masks when in public “because it’s one of the simplest things we can do to protect our loved ones and neighbors from COVID-19.”

The mayor posted to social media an image of blue-and-red fireworks surrounding a cautionary message:

“Stay at home if you can — or wear your mask if you can’t — & wash your hands.”

Nirenberg and Bexar County

Judge Nelson Wolff, both of whom had expressed concern that Independence Day celebrations could fuel transmission of the virus, closed city and county parks for the holiday weekend.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday signed an order requiring Texans to wear masks when in public, a step city and county officials had pushed for but that Abbott had resisted. First-time violators will receive a warning. Repeat offenders could be fined up to $250.

The requirement does not apply to children under age 10 or to people traveling in a vehicle with family members, attending worship services, dining in a restaurant, exercising or swimming. It does apply to people participating in political protests.

Some 1,120 COVID-19 patients were in San Antonio-area hospitals Saturday, up 31 from the day before. The number has in