San Antonio area set records Tuesday for new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations
- KSAT Screen Capture
- Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff speaks during Tuesday’s coronavirus briefing.
Bexar County set a pair of bleak new records Tuesday as it grapples with COVID-19 surge brought on by gatherings over the winter holidays.
The number of coronavirus patients in local hospitals ballooned to 1,318 Tuesday, blowing past a previous high of 1,267 set in July. The area also tallied 2,152 new COVID-19 cases, eclipsing a record set Sunday, when health officials reported 1,997 new cases.
During Tuesday’s pandemic press briefing, County Judge Nelson Wolff said the rising numbers reflect people gathering over a stretch of holidays that spanned from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.
“We’re seeing a huge impact of that, and I would assume we’ll continue to see that grow,” he said.
Local officials also revealed that one of the five people whose deaths were reported Tuesday included a Hispanic woman in her 20s, a Hispanic man in his 30s, two Hispanic men in their 40s and white man in his 90s. While medical shows elderly people tend to suffer worse outcomes from the coronavirus, it can also prove fatal to younger patients.
“The part that makes me very sad is after this, in one or two weeks, we will start to see the deaths piling up too,” said Dr. Junda Woo, medical director of Metro Health.
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