SAN ANTONIO — For the second time in three days, Bexar County has set a new 2022 low for daily COVID-19 cases after 419 infections were recorded by health authorities on Wednesday.
The low count brings the seven-day case average down to 727, also a record-low for the year, as the San Antonio area continues to rebound from a January spike that brought some of the highest case counts of the pandemic. Last month averaged nearly 4,200 new cases a day, while February has yielded an average of 1,418.
Hospitalizations also continued to fall, decreased for a ninth straight day Wednesday to 587, the fewest since Jan. 5 for Bexar County. The number of local patients has fallen by 35% over the last week alone.
Of those 587 currently hospitalized patients, 158 are in intensive care and 95 are using ventilators.
Meanwhile, the local pandemic death toll rose to 5,206 after six more virus-related deaths were reported by Metro Health on Wednesday.
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.
- 1.738 million eligible Bexar County residents have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of Thursday, Feb. 10.
- 1.413 million eligible Bexar County residents are fully vaccinated as of Thursday, Feb. 10.
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 10,953 on Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, including 8,000 new confirmed cases and 2,953 new probable cases. New numbers were not reported on Wednesday. More details can be found on this page.
Tuesday's figures bring the total number of Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 to more than 6.475 million.
More than 81,000 Texans, meanwhile, have died from virus complications.
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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