San Antonio confirms third case of COVID-19 in city; all are travel-related

San Antonio Metropolitan Health District officials said Sunday that a third San Antonian who recently traveled to Spain has tested positive for COVID-19.

The person is now in isolation. All three San Antonio cases so far are travel-related.

“As testing capacity has increased, we are getting clearer and more rapid assessment of any potential occurrence of travel-related infections,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “This will continue to increase the effectiveness of our efforts to get our community through this pandemic safely.”

A fourth case was reported by USAA to its employees Sunday afternoon at about the same time as the city’s announcement was made. It wasn’t immediately known whether that employee also might have contracted the virus while traveling.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

Shortly before Metro Health announced the new case, USAA sent its employees an email confirming that a worker was diagnosed with COVID-19.

“An employee from our San Antonio office has tested positive for COVID-19. The individual, who is currently out of state under the care of medical professionals, has not been at a USAA campus since March 6, at which point the employee did not experience any symptoms,” the statement reads.

Several employees who had “previous significant exposure to the affected individual” are in self-quarantine until March 21, USAA officials said. None of them, however, has shown any symptoms of having the virus.

The thid case announced by the city came one day after the city’s second case, which involved a person who had traveled to Japan. The first, which was announced Friday, involved a person who had traveled to California.

None of the confirmed cases in San Antonio appears to have originated in the city through community spread, health officials said.

The criteria for testing has been expanded to three categories:

 Those showing symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath and having had contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient,

 Those showing those same symptoms, the flu has been ruled out and they have risk factors or are a health care worker or first responder, or

 Those with severe respiratory illness such as pneumonia who require hospitalization, the flu has been ruled out and they have no known COVID-19 exposure.

Metro Health officials continue to urge San Antonio-area residents to engage in safe hygiene practices: Stay home if you’re sick, cough or sneeze into a tissue and throw it away immediately, wash hands frequently, avoid touching your face, keep a 6-foot distance from others in social settings, avoid crowds, and avoid physical contact with high-touch surfaces in public places such as elevator buttons, light switches and door handles — use tissues or your sleeve to cover your fingers.

For more information, call Metro Health at 207-5779, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.