SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County health authorities reported the area's worst day for coronavirus-related deaths in several weeks on Thursday, saying 10 more residents have died from virus complications for the first time since late October.
Twenty-two San Antonio-area residents have passed from COVID-19 over the past three days, after no new deaths were reported by Metro Health in the previous four. A total of 5,028 have died from virus complications in Bexar County.
The development comes during the San Antonio area's worst surge of new cases since the pandemic began, with another 5,841 reported by officials Thursday. Thus far this year, Metro Health has reported single-day counts of at least 3,000 new cases 18 times, after tallying just one such day in all of 2021.
More than 437,000 residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
Hospitalizations, meanwhile, went up for the 27th straight day as the highly contagious omicron variant continues putting new strain on health care systems. On Thursday, 1,263 county residents were hospitalized, which is up 45 from Wednesday and the highest that number has been since Sept. 2.
Of those 1,263 Bexar County hospitalizations, 277 patients are in intensive care and 116 are on ventilators.
How Bexar County is trending
Vaccine Progress in Bexar County
The following numbers are provided by San Antonio Metro Health. A full breakdown can be found here.
- 1.699 million eligible Bexar County residents have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of Thursday, Jan. 13, representing 89.7% of the county's population eligible (those over the age of 4) to receive a vaccination.
- 1.383 million eligible Bexar County residents are fully vaccinated as of Thursday, Jan. 13, representing 73% of the county's population eligible to receive a vaccination.
The CDC states that "when a high percentage of the community is immune to a disease (through vaccination and/or prior illness)," that community will have reached herd immunity, "making the spread of this disease from person to person unlikely."
The City of San Antonio breaks down the vaccination rates by zip code on Metro Health's Vaccination Statistics page.
Coronavirus in Texas
The total number of coronavirus cases in the state since the pandemic began grew by 46,415 on Thursday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. That total includes 37,900 new confirmed cases and 8,515 new probable cases. More details can be found on this page.
Thursday's figures bring the total number of Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 to more than 5.746 million.
An additional 166 Texans have died from virus complications, meanwhile, raising the statewide death toll to 76,443.
Coronavirus symptoms
The symptoms of coronavirus can be similar to the flu or a bad cold. Symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Most healthy people will have mild symptoms. A study of more than 72,000 patients by the Centers for Disease Control in China showed 80 percent of the cases there were mild.
But infections can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death, according to the World Health Organization. Older people with underlying health conditions are most at risk.
Experts determined there was consistent evidence these conditions increase a person's risk, regardless of age:
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Obesity (BMI of 30 or higher)
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Sickle cell disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- The CDC believes symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 14 days after being exposed.
Human coronaviruses are usually spread...
- Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
- Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
- Some recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.
Help stop the spread of coronavirus
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Eat and sleep separately from your family members
- Use different utensils and dishes
- Cover your cough or sneeze with your arm, not your hand.
- If you use a tissue, throw it in the trash.
Find a Testing Location
City officials recommend getting a COVID-19 test if you experience fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea.
Here's a Testing Sites Locator to help you find the testing location closest to you in San Antonio.
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