SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County is starting March by taking another step in the right direction when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic outlook.
After February saw the community start to recover from January's surge in cases – averaging 935 new infections a day compared to nearly 4,200 the month before – health authorities have downgraded the local risk level for COVID-19 spread from "moderate" to "mild" for the first time since October.
The positivity rate also dropped from to 4.9% this week, down from 9.7% last week.
Metro Health reported 253 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the seven-day average down to 209, the lowest it's been since Dec. 4, before the contagious omicron variant wreaked havoc on San Antonio. The number of local coronavirus hospitalizations also dropped to below 300 for the first time this year, falling to 283 on Tuesday.
Of those 283 patients, 76 are in intensive care and 41 are using ventilators. The number of county patients in hospitals has fallen by 40% over the last week, and by 76% since Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, Metro Health authorities say five more county residents have died from virus complications. In all, 5,268 have died in our area from COVID-19 complications, while 523,721 have been diagnosed.
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.
- 1.747 million eligible Bexar County residents have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of Thursday, Feb. 24.
- 1.424 million eligible Bexar County residents are fully vaccinated as of Thursday, Feb. 24.
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 4,829 on Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. That total includes 2,645 new confirmed cases and 2,184 new probable cases. More details can be found on this page.
Tuesday's figures bring the total number of Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 to more than 6.554 million.
An additional 144 Texans have died from virus complications, meanwhile, raising the statewide death toll to 83,693.
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.
Latest Coronavirus Headlines
- Coronavirus Tracker: Bexar County's pandemic outlook much brighter at end of February
- CDC still recommends masking indoors in San Antonio, despite relaxed guidance
- No, hospitals don’t get more money when they list COVID-19 as a patient’s cause of death
- Is omicron leading us closer to herd immunity against COVID?
- Capitol lifts mask requirement days before State of the Union
- Nearly half of Biden's 500 million free COVID tests still unclaimed
- Why could the pandemic cause brain inflammation in people who never got COVID?