Two more Bexar County residents have lost their lives to the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 11 locally.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has increased to 384, up 42 from Friday, according to City officials.
The two men who died of symptoms of coronavirus were in their 80s, and one of the two was not in good health, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a press briefing on Saturday.
Of the 384 diagnosed, 47 have fully recovered from their symptoms, Nirenberg said. Thirty-four test results are still pending.
The increase in deaths and positive test results comes as the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District relaxed its testing criteria. People seeking a COVID-19 test in Bexar County no longer need a doctor’s note to be tested at a drive-up testing site at Joe Freeman Coliseum, Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger said Friday.
“We went with the least restrictive testing criteria that we could,” Bridger said, noting an online screening tool developed by Metro Health will help people more quickly be approved for testing.
In addition to relaxing testing criteria, City officials are hunkering down on orders aimed at keeping local residents safe, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said.
“We are making sure that businesses are following guidelines put in place to help keep [Bexar County] safe,” Wolff said.
While essential workers will continue to go to work, Nirenberg said that the City has started issuing violations to workplaces remaining open that violate social distancing recommendations and occupancy regulations.
Some businesses that have already been warned or issued violations continue to violate the measures put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus locally, Nirenberg said.
“If we issue a violation, and [a business] continues to violate, certificates of occupancy will be revoked and we will close the business,” he said. “We will shut you down.”
