This blog is updated on Tuesdays and Fridays. It includes COVID-19 data from San Antonio’s Metropolitan Health District, as well as statewide reporting from The Texas Newsroom. For the latest local data, click here. For the latest state data, click here.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says he and his wife, Tracy, have tested positive for COVID-19 and have mild symptoms. The county's top executive says both are staying at home to be treated.
Wolff recently delivered the State of the County Address at the Grand Hyatt, attended by local political and business leaders. He says anyone he came into contact with has been notified.
The fully vaccinated Wolff says his illness is a reminder of how persistent the virus can be, but he says vaccinations and boosters protect us from serious illness.
Local COVID-19 data, last updated Tuesday, May 17
There were 175 new coronavirus cases reported Tuesday by San Antonio’s Metropolitan Health District. The 7-day average of reported cases is now at 218.
There are 90 patients hospitalized with the illness locally, including 22 in intensive care units and 9 on ventilators.
Metro Health reported no new deaths on Tuesday. The death toll since the beginning of the pandemic stands at 5,322 people.
San Antonio coronavirus testing positivity rate is now up to 9.7% for the week of May 7 to May 13. It was reported at 6.4% the previous week, and it has increased slightly each week for the last seven weeks.
The percentage does not include at-home tests that are not reported to Metro Health.
More free COVID tests to be made available
The federal government will make more COVID-19 tests available to those in the U.S. who request them. They can be ordered here. According to NPR, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver eight free antigen tests.
Click here for more information about getting the COVID-19 vaccine in San Antonio (aquí para español).
The impact of long COVID
As waves of omicron and its extremely contagious subvariants burn through previously uninfected populations, it has become clear that people with mild or asymptomatic cases aren’t immune from long COVID.
Petrie Dish Host Bonnie Petrie talked to Dr. Monica Verduzco Gutierrez, professor and distinguished chair of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, to learn more about post-COVID syndrome and how to prepare for the decades of disability that may remain long after the pandemic is in the rear view mirror.
Find the latest national and international updates on COVID-19 from NPR's live blog.
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