37 coronavirus-related deaths in San Antonio, including a man in his 30s

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – San Antonio reports four additional coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total to 37.  One of the latest victims was a Hispanic man in his 30s who died at Northeast Baptist Hospital.

Another fatality reported Wednesday was an African-American woman in her 50s who resided at Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.  Seventeen residents at that facility on East Southcross have passed away after being diagnosed with COVID-19.  The latest victim died at Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans’ Hospital.

A Hispanic female in her 70’s also passed away after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, and a Hispanic man in his 70s died at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital.

Metro Health Director Dawn Emerick says all four had underlying medical issues, and at Wednesday’s daily COVID-19 briefing, she urged people in high risk groups to do everything they can to avoid exposure to the virus.

“Chronic diseases, diabetes, above the age of 50, and even if you’re a smoker or a past smoker, please, please make sure that you’re adhering to all of the precautions that we’ve been mentioning to you,” said Emerick.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Bexar County has climbed to 890.

That number includes two additional inmates at the Bexar County Jail, bringing the total to 10.   Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says one of the inmates who tested positive for COVID-19 has been transported to University Hospital.

Seventy-seven COVID-19 patients in the City and the County are hospitalized.   Thirty are on ventilators.  You can see more numbers and a breakdown by zip codes here.

You can also see four different projective models indicating when our community can expect to see a peak in the number of COVID-19 cases.  Based on Wednesday’s models,  mid-May is projected to be the local peak.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg says experts will interpret those models and provide input as to when the the city can start reopening businesses.  Nirenberg and Wolff are putting together a health transition team “to make sure that we have a level set of conditions, circumstances of systems and protocols that need to be in place once we do start opening things up, because the last thing anybody wants to do, is find ourselves in this situation again six months from now.”

“Seeing that date, the curve,  where we are, when our peak is going to be is critically important, but that’s not the only part of the conversation,” said Nirenberg.

Wolff says the federal government needs to step up with  more Personal Protective Equipment for those on the frontlines of fighting this pandemic, in addition to an adequate supply of test kits before businesses can reopen.

“It’s not going to be overnight, it’s not going to be without consequences and we’re all going to have to be extremely careful,” said Wolff. “If we do phase in reopening, you’re still going to have death, you’re still going to have people getting the disease.”

Wolff said it will be important to continue wearing face masks in public places, adhering to social distancing guidelines and washing your hands frequently in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.