COVID-19 still circulating widely in S.A.
21 more deaths and 185 new cases reported by county health officials
The threat of COVID-19 in San Antonio hovered in a moderate range Thursday with 185 new cases reported by health officials, a slight decrease from 191 the day before.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg reported 21 new deaths from the disease, bringing the total in Bexar County since the start of the pandemic to 677. Some of those deaths date as far back as May 24.
At least 16 of the victims had underlying conditions. One of them, a Hispanic woman in her 90s, died at home.
At least two, a Hispanic man in his 90s and a Hispanic woman in her 90s, died at nursing homes — the man at Huebner Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the woman at River City Care Center.
Among the deceased was the county’s second centenarian to fall victim to the virus.
The 185 new cases brought Bexar County’s total since the onset of the pandemic to 44,641.
The pressure of COVID-19 on area hospitals continued to ease with 532 people reported hospitalized with the virus, down 14 from the day before. Of those, 239 were in intensive care and 163 were on ventilators.
Hospitals remained under high stress, however, with just 15 percent of beds available.
This week, state officials said the accuracy of the statewide positivity rate — the percentage of people who test positive for the coronavirus — has been thrown into question by a backlog of test results going back as far as March.
The statewide rate reached 24.5 percent last week before plummeting to 11 percent this week as officials at the Texas Department
of State Health Services accounted for more backlogged tests.
In San Antonio, the positivity rate is hovering at 11 percent, a sign that COVID-19 is still circulating widely in the community.
Nirenberg said residents should have a high degree of confidence in the local positivity rate reported by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
“The San Antonio data that’s being presented has a very high
standard of accuracy,” he said. “We are getting (test results) back from the labs on the day that they are reporting them, and sometimes there are backlogs at the state that slows down their numbers, but we’re getting the bulk of those results back directly to us.
“At this point, we don’t have any backlogs that we are aware of at the state that are impacting the San Antonio area.”
Worries about voting
The pandemic has cast a shadow over the November election, when Americans will choose a president, a new Congress and fill numerous other federal, state and local offices.
Large numbers of people are expected to vote by mail because of concerns about contracting COVID-19 at polling places. But recent cuts at the U.S. Postal Service have led to widespread delays in mail deliveries, prompting worries that mail ballots could reach election offices too late to be counted.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales stepped into the controversy this week, requesting a legal opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on whether a district attorney may prosecute a federal official who prevents Texas voters — particularly those age 65 or older —fromvotingbymail
Gonzales said Thursday that he could target newly appointed Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, a supporter of President Donald Trump who made cuts to the Postal Service that union leaders say have slowed the mail.
“It potentially could include him,” Gonzales said in an interview. “We’re talking about high-level officials with the Postal Service, and it could go as far up as the postmaster general.”
Gonzales, a Democrat, said he could move forward regardless of whether the Republican attorney general responds to his letter or gives him a green light.
He said he first would ask the Texas Rangers to investigate reports that mailsorting machines have been dismantled and that piles of backed-up mail were removed from San Antonio’s main post office before a visit Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-san Antonio.
The Express-news, quoting postal union leaders, reported that mail handlers were directed to remove piles of mail in an effort to deceive the congressman.
“If that’s what happened, I want to know at whose direction,” Gonzales said. “I want to know whether that amounts to a crime, if that’s something I can prosecute. We have to have someone investigate this, and then bring us back that investigation for us to determine that a crime occurred.”
In the meantime, Gonzales urged voters to cast their ballots in person if possible. Those who cannot vote in person should request mail-in ballots as soon as possible, he said. “Request it today and get it in as soon as possible so that they will be counted.”