San Antonio omicron cases, hospitalizations finally declining

San Antonio appears to be moving past its omicron peak, according to data and local physicians. Over the last two weeks, the number of new omicron cases and omicron-related hospitalizations in Bexar County have been on the decline, with the seven-day average dipping from 6,975 on Jan. 12 to 3,556 on Thursday. This week, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District upgraded San Antonio’s risk level from “severe and worsening” to “severe and steady.” The area’s positivity rate also dropped, from a high of 39.4 on Jan. 23 to 32.4 this week. It doesn’t appear that deaths, always a lagging indicator, have peaked yet. Metro Health reported 63 new deaths over the past week, 39 of those just in the past three days.

San Antonio’s omicron decline reflects similar trends statewide. Texas is also seeing new cases and hospitalizations decline, while deaths are still rising. Despite the apparent good news, local health officials are still urging residents to take precautions against the highly contagious variant, such as continuing to wear masks indoors and social distance when necessary. “We have to understand that we are still in this,” said Anita Kurian, assistant director of Metro Health. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, almost 500,000 cases have been reported in Bexar County and 5,135 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported as of Thursday. The fourth local surge in cases, which can be attributed to the omicron variant, began on Dec. 13 and rapidly drove case numbers up over the next month, Kurian said. Since Jan. 12, San Antonio has seen a slow decline in its seven-day moving average of new cases.