:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/D567TQG27JFOVFDMUVY27RJHSU.jpg)
SAN ANTONIO – Texas has broken the previous record for new daily cases of COVID-19 before Christmas, while health officials are advocating for people to stay home and avoid holiday travel.
The state reported 19,185 new confirmed cases on Wednesday, as well as 294 new coronavirus-related deaths. The previous record for new daily infections was set on December 17, with 16,900 cases.
More than 10,500 COVID-19 patients in Texas remain in hospitals.
The Texas outbreak comes as San Antonio records an alarming number of new virus cases this week, with 1,717 new cases reported on Tuesday and 1,629 new cases reported on Wednesday.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Wednesday that the number of cases in the city is 106,793.
Eight new virus-related deaths were reported in San Antonio on Wednesday.
Nirenberg and health officials across the country have called on residents to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 this holiday season, as the pandemic that has already claimed more than 320,000 lives in the United States has not slowed.
“With the increase in COVID-19 cases in our community at an alarming rate, it is crucial that we remain disciplined to defeat the virus,” Nirenberg said Tuesday, as locals issued an emergency alert. “By avoiding the behaviors and situations that spread the coronavirus during the holiday season, we will slow down the spread of COVID-19 and accelerate the return to normal. Protect yourself and your loved ones. Keep wearing masks, keep your distance and keep COVID-19 away. “
This week, the number of daily hospitalizations in Texas exceeded 10,000 for the first time since an outbreak in July, which recorded nearly 11,000 daily hospitalizations.
Nearly 26,000 people have died in Texas from COVID-19, the second-highest death toll in the country, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
The government, Greg Abbott, who received a COVID-19 vaccine on live television on Tuesday, said it would not impose new measures to block it, even if cases increase.
Texas is in Phase 1A of the COVID-19 vaccine launch, which includes inoculations for health care workers and residents and long-term care staff. Texans aged 65 and over and people with qualified health conditions are listed in Phase 1B, which is expected to begin in at least a few weeks.
Read also:
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed without permission.