LACKLAND AFB

click to enlarge Kevin Iinuma / Wikimedia CommonsA surgical technician scrubs in before entering an operating room at Lackland's Wilford Hall medical facility. The U.S. military says it will no longer report the number of COVID-19 diagnoses at its bases, triggering cover-up accusations by San Antonio and Bexar County officials.On Friday evening, a coronavirus webpage set up by Joint Base San Antonio confirmed 28 local military personnel, dependents and retirees had tested positive for COVID-19. "Few of the roughly 87,000 people working at San Antonio-area military facilities live on base, heightening the potential for infections to spread through the larger community, Wolff said. That makes it vital for local health officials to be able to track on-base cases.As of Monday, there were 1,087 COVID-19 cases across the Department of Defense. "This is a global pandemic, and the public has a right to know the number of COVID-19 cases within our community," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in an emailed statement.

Around 100 passengers from a cruise ship that was carrying people infected with coronavirus are headed to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland for quarantine, thereports.Some 90 passengers being evacuated from thedocked in Oakland, California are Texas residents, Gov. "[The new group of passengers] will stay on the base and not be transported around the city of San Antonio," Wolff said, "I personally feel a lot more confident about it." Last night, we received word that the federal government has opted to quarantine evacuees from the Grand Princess cruise ship at Lackland AFB. From local politics and culture to national news that hits close to home, San Antonio Current has been keeping San Antonio informed for years. If quality journalism is important to you, please consider a donation to San Antonio Current.

SAN ANTONIO – Update:The Department of Defense has announced Joint Base San Antonio -Lackland’s coronavirus quarantine zone will remain available to patients through mid-March. The citizens will be housed in two existing federal quarantine sites - one at the Travis Air Force Base in California and the other at Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland. It’s currently unknown how many of those people will come to San Antonio after stopping in California. A city source confirmed to KSAT 12 on Saturday that Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland is anticipating an unknown number of people to arrive. The risk to the public remains low, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Thursday.

SAN ANTONIO – Update:Joint Base San Antonio will hold a town hall forum Wednesday, Feb. 5 for JBSA personnel and families regarding the quarantine zone for those who may be infected with coronavirus. Joint Base San Antonio also setup a website that has information on the virus and the town hall forum. JBSA personnel and their families are invited to the town hall to address any questions or concerns they may have regarding the quarantine zone. We should all be comforted by the extra precautions being taken by federal, state and local health officials," said Nirenberg. San Antonio health officials continue to monitor coronavirus outbreakWe’ll bring more details as they become available.

I hate to admit it.Balfour workers' manipulated records at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma and Malmstrom AFB in Montana, according to Reuters. It also follows a federal lawsuit by families alleging they were exposed to unsafe conditions in housing at San Antonio's Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. From local politics and culture to national news that hits close to home, San Antonio Current has been keeping San Antonio informed for years. If quality journalism is important to you, please consider a donation to San Antonio Current. Every reader contribution is valuable and so appreciated, and goes directly to support our coverage of critical issues and neighborhood culture.