Mayor Ron Nirenberg says we have enough for now, but need to plan for worst-case scenario
Steve Spriester, Anchor/Reporter
Julie Moreno, Executive Producer/Digital Content
SAN ANTONIO – SAQ: How many ventilators does Bexar County have?
During Wednesday’s 6 p.m. newscast on KSAT, Mayor Ron Nirenberg addressed some COVID-19-related questions submitted by KSAT viewers, including a question about how many ventilators are available in San Antonio and Bexar County.
Nirenberg said there are 750 ventilators in the Bexar County area. As of Wednesday evening, a little more than 500 were still available.
Nirenberg said he’s ordered 2,100 more from the state of Texas as a precaution.
“If we do our jobs right, we won’t need many more resources. But we can’t plan that way, we have to plan for the worst-case scenario, and that’s why we put in the order for more ventilators in the case that we were to see a surge,” Nirenberg said.
The mayor said that the “Stay Home, Work Safe” order, which has been extended through April 30, is working to limit the infection spread and to preserve hospital resources.
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.