COVID-19 count highest since February

Last Tuesday, May 18, Bandera Emergency Management (BEM) reported there were 28 active cases of COVID-19 in Bandera County, the highest count reported since February.

Yesterday, that number was down to ten total active cases, seven of which were marked as new cases not included in last week’s count.

According to BEM Coordinator Carey Reed, the department gets its numbers from Region 8 of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), which includes three million people across 28 counties of south central Texas.

DSHS used to provide daily counts, but switched to weekly counts. Reed said the department did this to focus on vaccination efforts.

Speaking of vaccines, 200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available on a firstcome, first-served basis next Thursday, May 27, at the Silver Sage, 803 Buck Drive in Bandera, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Tomorrow’s vaccination clinic is for those aged 18 and up.

DSHS reported on Sunday, May 16, that no deaths related to COVID-19 were reported, the first such report since March 21, 2020.

DSHS reported 23 new deaths the following day.

The number of Texans hospitalized with COVID-19 is at its lowest level since last June, according to DSHS, with 2,070 hospitalized as of Sunday, May 23.

The number of new cases in the past week in Texas, as reported by the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University, stood at 12,290, down 17.5 percent from the previous week and continuing the steady decline statewide.

A total of 269 deaths were recorded statewide for the same time frame.

Meanwhile, the number of Texans who are fully vaccinated reached nearly 9.8 million.