As of 7:21 am on July 16th the Bexar County area has seen: 21,546 cases of COVID-19, 208 deaths and, 7,968 cases recovered, Positive test percentage is up to 24.2% which continues the upward trend that has been seen since early June. As these numbers continue to stay constant, we continue to ask the public to stay vigilant in their attempts to stay healthy and help ease the stress on our healthcare system.
Last night, the public was given an update from mayor Nirenberg and other leaders of our community. The main topic of discussion was the reopening of schools for the 2020-2021 school year. The state of Texas has given power to local healthcare systems to give their recommendations on reopening schools. A Task Force has been created to come up with a solution for the 17 school districts in the San Antonio-Bexar county area. This Task Force will meet starting today to come up with a solution however the Mayor stated in his address that; "Schools are not ready to reopen in August."
The next topic for discussion was that of refrigerated trucks that have been brought to the Alamo City for bodies that are overwhelming the morgues. This sentiment was denied by the leaders and stated that bringing in these trucks is more of an insurance policy than a necessity. These trucks are available for the hospitals in the area if they need them. Dr. Hancock of the Methodist Healthcare System, state that Methodist Hospitals have not yet had to use these trucks and have been able to handle their morgue situation in house.
For more information please visit our Covid-19 site at d7fr.org/covid.
Original Press Conference: https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/07/16/coronavirus-update-san-antonio-july-15-metro-health-creates-task-force-to-come-up-with-guidelines-for-students-to-return-to-campus/