COVID-19 Update from District 8

Dear Neighbors,

I want to remind you that there is a lot of misleading information about the COVID-19 pandemic out there. I encourage you to get your updates directly from the City of San Antonio. As of today (03/18/2020), there have been a total of 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bexar County. Please see below for the latest updates.

Public Health Emergency Declaration

Mayor Nirenberg issued the third Declaration of Public Health Emergency to make San Antonio more resilient in these changing conditions. The emergency declaration bans gatherings of 50 people or more and strongly recommends that people avoid social gatherings of 10 or more. The declaration and guidelines for spacing in restaurants can be viewed here.

The declaration includes the following:

Prohibits all indoor public and private gatherings and outdoor gatherings within an enclosed space of 50 persons or more anywhere in the City of San Antonio beginning at 11:59 PM on March 16, 2020, and continuing for seven (7) days.
A mass gathering is defined as any event that is likely to bring together 50 or more persons at the same time in a single room or other single confined space, such as an auditorium, theatre, stadium (indoor or outdoor), arena or event center, meeting hall, conference center, large cafeteria or any other confined indoor or outdoor space.
Recommends the CDC’s guidance urging the public to avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.

The declaration exempts the following from “mass gatherings”:

Gatherings of people in multiple, separate enclosed spaces in a single building such as a multiplex movie theater, so long as 50 people are not present at the same time.
The San Antonio International Airport, public or private schools and places of worship, museums (so long as visitors are generally are not within arm’s length of one another for extended periods)
Bus stops or transit centers, office spaces, hotels or residential buildings
Grocery stores, shopping malls, outdoor markets or other retail establishments where large numbers of people are present but it is unusual for them to be within arm’s length of one another for extended periods
Bars, restaurants and other public food service locations
Hospitals, medical facilities, and shelters
Jails and detention centers

Governor Abbott Update

In his press conference, Governor Abbott outlined the following key facts:

Texas has 64 confirmed COVID-19 cases across 19 counties not including those at JBSA Lackland and the Texas Center for Infectious Disease.
1264 Texans have been tested

The Governor is working closely with the Federal Government to ramp up testing facilities throughout Texas. And, he commended San Antonio for being the first in Texas to implement drive-through testing and for being a leader in our public response to COVID-19. We are anticipating the addition of FEMA pods, more drive-through testing centers, and more testing resources.

Recent Confirmed Case

Monday, a spokesperson for University Health Systems confirmed one of their physicians tested positive for COVID-19 and that the physician is quarantined at home. The District 8 office learned that a dozen hospital staff members had contact with the doctor and are now in self-quarantine for 14 days. University Health Systems implemented measures to reduce exposure and are currently screening all visitors and restricting hospital patients to two visitors a day.

Drive-Through Testing

Last Friday, a pop-up drive-through was made available for first responders and health care workers who meet qualifications for testing. You can view how the drive-through testing lab works by clicking here.

Small Business

We recognize that COVID-19 is having an impact on small businesses. Here is how the City of San Antonio and our state and federal partners are working to support small businesses.

Scroll below to the Business Resource link to access the Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Worksheet, where you can make claims for losses to your business due to COVID-19. With these received, the president can make informed decisions on what areas to declare SBA Disaster Areas and make local businesses there eligible for disaster loans and financial support.

Locally, the City of San Antonio is working in partnership with LiftFund to offer 0% interest loans for qualifying businesses. You can learn more about that by clicking here.

Restaurants are adapting and evolving to best fit the needs of the dining community. Please support the restaurants in your area and enjoy your food to go!

Here are a few more ways you can support small businesses:

Buy gift cards
Shop local
Order to go

In the meantime, please practice social distancing and good hygiene to help us prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We will continue to keep you updated through this rapidly changing situation. For District 8 updates, follow @district8manny on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Out of an abundance of caution, our physical offices will be closed and we will revisit this on a weekly basis. Our team will be monitoring and responding to calls and emails received. The goal will be to limit the disruption of the delivery of constituent services.

As always you can reach us at 210-207-7086 or by email at council.district8@sanantonio.gov.

Indebted to public service,

Councilman Manny Pelaez