Medina County reported 9 additional cases since last Tuesday, bringing the county total to 68. The new cases included several TDJC prison offenders and staff, as well as several staff members in a local nursing home, and 1 probable case in the Devine zipcode.
Five staff members have tested positive in a local nursing home, Medina Valley Health and Rehab. No additional residents have tested positive since the initial case. Only two of the staff members who tested positive actually reside in Medina County (1 in Natalia and 1 in Castroville).
There are now 36 cases that have been reported in the local TDJC Prisons in Medina County.
The company was proactive and decided to test all staff and residents before the Governor ordered all nursing homes to do the same.
“The State is working on nursing home testing. They were slow rolling with it last week, as the military is transitioning from drive-up testing to going into the nursing home facilities. We should be getting those on the schedule soon for the nursing homes who haven’t already started testing,” stated Emergency Manager Keith Lutz.
“This only applies to nursing homes, not to assisted living facilities, at least in the first round,” Lutz adds. “The mission right now is to focus on testing in nursing homes and prison facilities.”
The county still has one resident hospitalized, and is reported to be improving. A total of 318 tests have been given to county residents.
The Judge reported most county facilities are back open to somewhat normal, except the tax office which is by appointment only.
“The County Courthouse is open, but you still have to get your temperature taken as you come in. We are slowly getting back to being fully opened,” Judge Chris Schuchart said.
Results of the free testing sites in Hondo and Castroville have come in, mostly. In Hondo, one was confirmed positive, and in Castroville one is shown as “pending.”
Medina County Health Unit Director Patricia Mechler stated, “We have one listed as a ‘probable’ case which was from an antibody test, which I anticipate we will see more of. That person has since gotten the nasal swab which came back negative, but we are still counting it as a ‘probable’ case.”
“You can get a COVID test at just about any local clinic. It’s pretty easy to get a test now. There are no more free drive-up testing sites planned in Medina County as of right now,” Mechler said. “But there are still some free testing sites in San Antonio if you go through SA Metro.”
Local leaders note that they are keeping an eye on things as we re-open, and it seems to be going fine.
“If we start seeing a trend or a hot spot in the county, we will work with the State to bring in any additional resources that are needed,” Lutz adds.
They also reported that our local hospital, Medina Regional, is back to operating at 100% including elective surgeries, etc.
“We will keep following the Governor’s guidance, and we ask all the local businesses to keep following the rules as well,” Judge Schuchart added.
