Modest increase in cases of virus
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
• You can still be evicted for reasons other than nonpayment of rent, such as damaging property, criminal behavior and other lease violations.
• The CDC moratorium applies to individual renters who expect to earn $99,000 or less this year, or no more than $198,000 for couples filing a joint tax return. It also applies if you received a stimulus check during the pandemic or weren’t required to report income to the Internal Revenue Service last year.
• To be protected from eviction, you must give a declaration form to your landlord. It must include specific statements, such as that you exhausted all options for government rental assistance and that you’re unable to pay because of a major loss of income, job loss or “extraordinary” outof-pocket medical expenses. You also must swear that if evicted, you’d likely experience homelessness or have to double up in cramped living situations. Click here for a copy of the declaration.
• People who make a false statement on the declaration can risk being prosecuted for perjury, which can carry serious criminal penalties or jail time. Be sure to read the document carefully, and if you have questions about what you’re signing, reach out to an attorney.
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and St. Mary’s University are among organizations offering legal help to tenants.
• If your landlord has already filed an eviction lawsuit in a court, file a copy of the declaration form with the court, along with some sort of proof that you gave it to your landlord. Landlords who move to evict without the right to do so can face serious federal penalties and up to a $1,000 fine in Bexar County.