Residents ‘doing their part’ to keep virus at bay, mayor says
COVID numbers still low two weeks after end of mask mandate
Two weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate and allowed businesses to reopen at full capacity, the pandemic's grip on San Antonio continues to weaken.
Health experts feared that scrapping mask requirements right before spring break could spur a surge in cases. Although it's too early to conclude that San Antonio is in the clear, city officials say continued mask use by many residents has helped the city avoid another spike, at least so far.
“I'm thankful that we see the vast majority of folks out and about protecting themselves — maintaining their social distance and mask wearing,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Wednesday. “I think the reason why you're not seeing the spike is because people are still doing their part to protect one another.”
Bexar County has finally reached the point where the number of residents who've received at least one dose of vaccine is more than twice the number of COVID-19 cases confirmed over the last year.
Health officials reported 132 new cases Wednesday, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 202,981.
Almost 429,000 Bexar County residents now have received at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly 240,000 are fully vaccinated, according to state data.
“We have made our voices heard every single day to our federal government and our state government that we need more vaccines … particularly as eligibility opens up,” Nirenberg said.
As more and more people have been vaccinated over the last few months, the strain on area hospitals has eased significantly. San Antonio hospitals were caring for 183 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, compared with 1,400 or more at the height of the winter
surge.
Of those now hospitalized, 63 were in intensive care, and 37 were breathing with the assistance of ventilators. That’s less than half the volume of a month ago.
Daily case counts also have dropped precipitously since the January surge, when 2,000 or more new COVID-19 infections were reported on some days. The seven-day average of new cases is now 160 per day.