• San Antonio sees more than 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus.
Backlog boosts COVID-19 deaths in San Antonio by 17
The spread of COVID-19 in San Antonio became more severe Sunday as officials reported 1,077 new coronavirus cases.
Nearly half of the new cases — 510 of them — are backlogged cases from more than two weeks ago. There were no new deaths reported, but the city added 17 deaths from backlogged investigations.
The city’s seven-day rolling case average jumped to 476 daily cases, up from 328 on Nov. 15.
“The ongoing growth in the number of COVID cases is a wakeup call,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “We can’t relax. Stay disciplined.”
Since the pandemic arrived in March, 73,882 San Antonians have been infected by the coronavirus, and 1,335 have died, according to city records.
Nirenberg urged residents to continue engaging in safe practices to mitigate the spread of the virus, saying “these tools will work if we use them.”
“We can slow down the increase in cases by following public health guidelines,” he said. “Avoid large gatherings, wear a mask when in public, exercise social distancing and wash your hands frequently.”
The local surge mirrors a nationwide trend, as the virus has spread through the country at a record pace, causing a third wave of infections greater than the first two. The United States surpassed 12 million total cases Saturday, with the latest 2 million cases having been identified in just the last two weeks.
In response to rising case numbers, San Antonio has expanded
testing efforts in recent weeks, and local schools and businesses have done the same. Bexar County tested more people last week — about 34,900 tests — than in any other week since the pandemic began. It was the first week in which more than 25,000 people were tested.
But more widespread testing is not necessarily the reason for the recent surge in daily case numbers. The area’s test positivity rate was above 9 percent this week for the first time since late August, when the area was
recovering from its summertime peak. The positive test rate has doubled since early October.
And as case numbers have increased, so has the strain on the city’s hospitals.
San Antonio’s hospitals were treating 492 COVID-19 patients Sunday, an increase of 26 since Saturday. COVID-19 now accounts for about 13 percent of all hospital patients in the city.
Of these patients, 70 are from El Paso, where hospitals have been overwhelmed with rising cases. There were 165 COVID-19 patients in intensive care Sunday, up from 148 Saturday, and 84 are on ventilators to help them breathe, an increase from 66 on Saturday.
Testing for symptomatic individuals at the Freeman Coliseum, the Cuellar Community Center and the Ramirez Community Center will not be available on Nov. 26 and 27.
Testing for asymptomatic individuals at the two community centers and the AT&T Center will not be available between Nov. 26 and 29.