COVID hospitalizations rising in S.A.

More than 100 new patients admitted for virus on Sunday

San Antonio’s hospitals continued on a dangerous trajectory Sunday as officials reported the second-highest number of hospitalizations in a 24-hour span since the pandemic began.

With 111 new admissions, area hospitals are now treating 866 patients with COVID-19, up from 824 Saturday. That number peaked on July 13 with 1,267 people receiving hospital care for the virus at one time.

The percentage of patients infected with the coronavirus at hospitals here now stands at 22.3 percent, more than double what it was a month ago.

There are 273 coronavirus patients in intensive care, up from 268 Saturday, and 145 patients using ventilators to help them breathe, a significant increase from 133 Saturday.

“The virus remains widespread in our community, so we have to avoid high-risk situations,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement.

With holidays approaching and more gatherings expected in

the coming weeks, city officials have been urging residents to avoid complacency and continue safe practices in order to save lives and avoid overwhelming the city’s hospitals.

“Remember to protect your family and loved ones by wearing a mask, avoiding large social gatherings and maintaining at least six feet of distance from others,” Nirenberg said.

Officials reported 538 new cases and 804 confirmations of cases from more than two weeks ago, bringing Bexar County’s total infections since March to 102,164.

There were no new deaths, but officials added 13 previously unconfirmed deaths Sunday. Since the pandemic began, 1,455 San Antonians have died from COVID-19.

After three consecutive days with fewer than 1,000 new cases, the seven-day rolling average dropped to 1,025. A month ago, the average was 476 daily cases.

In San Antonio and across the country, new cases have been climbing since October. This week, the United States surpassed 17 million total cases and 300,000 deaths. The most recent 5 million cases have come in the past month alone.

In Bexar County, 20,000 cases have been identified in just the past three weeks, almost a fifth of the total since the pandemic arrived in March.

San Antonio has expanded its testing efforts to more quickly identify new cases so infected people can quarantine faster. More than 265,000 people have visited the testing sites in the past eight weeks, more than the total from the previous 18 weeks combined and not including tests conducted by private providers.

More than 46,000 people were tested at city-run locations last week, the most in one week since the pandemic began.

But more testing is not necessarily the reason for the ongoing surge in cases; Bexar County’s test positivity rate has also been trending upward since early October. The positivity rate hit 15 percent two weeks ago and now stands at 12.5 percent, but health officials expect it to rise again with Christmas and New Year’s approaching, as it did after Thanksgiv

Vaccines have only been available to frontline health care workers for a week. It will be months before everyone has access to vaccines due to its limited supply.

A list of testing locations around San Antonio can be found on the city’s coronavirus website.