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After seeing an increase in coronavirus cases of 40 on Monday, the case count on Tuesday returned to the triple digits – with 222 new cases, bringing Bexar County’s seven-day rolling average to 168.
Monday’s report reflects a pattern of smaller increases after weekends, when labs are less active, said Jennifer Herriott, assistant director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
The death toll continued to rise with 13 additional fatalities reported on Tuesday. Among the deceased was a 15-year-old girl who had underlying medical conditions. Other deaths were among residents between ages 40 and 99. The toll now stands at 822, according to Metro Health.
Five of the deaths were part of an ongoing Metro Health review of death certificates sent to the State.
Ages and ethnicities of the deceased
• 5 Hispanic men between ages 50 and 79
• 5 Hispanic women between ages 60 and 99
• 1 Black girl aged 15
• 1 Black man in his 40s
Bexar County’s death toll stands at 1,101, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Funeral homes and medical facilities first report deaths to the State, and Metro Health verifies that the deceased had a Bexar County residence and a positive coronavirus diagnosis.
With an improvement in the positivity rate on Monday, the county’s school reopening risk level remains in the moderate, or yellow, zone. That means, according to Metro Health’s guidelines for school reopenings, in-person instruction can resume in small groups – no more than six in a pod – and among at-risk student populations such as special-needs students and those without home internet connections.
“We’re only six days away from the first [in-person] classes in San Antonio,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said during a Tuesday briefing, referring to the slated return of in-person schooling after Labor Day weekend. “So we have a little more time to continue to bring down that [positivity] rate.”
