SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff updated the community about the local response to COVID-19 in their daily briefing Tuesday night.
- Nirenberg reported 207 COVID-19 cases and 9 deaths in Bexar County, as of Tuesday. The mayor also reported 63 travel-related cases, 63 community transmission cases, 69 hospitalizations, 32 patients in intensive care and 28 patients on ventilators.
- Nirenberg talked about the importance of social distancing and slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
- The mayor said the city is expanding testing and is getting data from private labs.
- Wolff and Nirenberg warned about the possibility of scam artists trying to trick residents with fake at-home tests.
- Wolff emphasized the need to work together to weather economic challenges in the area and support essential services businesses. He said the county set up a $5 million fund to help local business owners.
- Wolff talked about how local companies are approaching the pandemic. He also said many essential services businesses are still hiring.
- The judge also talked about the health care systems and workers in Bexar County and the need to support them during this time.
- During the question-answer portion of the briefing, Nirenberg said the city would cite any businesses not complying with the “Stay Home, Work Safe” order after being warned. He disputed a claim that police officers are stopping residents to ask where they are going. He said that is not true, and officers are stopping people for traffic violations.
- Both leaders told reporters they are concerned about JBSA no longer releasing COVID-19 numbers.
- They also talked about the faith community and some of the guidelines regarding places of worship.
- Nirenberg said a moment of silence will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday for those who have died from the virus.
Watch the entire briefing in the video player above.
San Antonio Mayor and Bexar County Judge give live, daily updates here at 6:10 p.m.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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