New COVID death brings count to 70

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) attributed a new Bandera County death, 2022’s fifth, to COVID-19, bringing the total death count since the start of the pandemic to 70.

That new death count is less than last weeks, although deaths were up nearly 25 percent statewide compared to last week, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

New case counts, on the other hand, are down from last week in both the county and state at large, with DSHS reporting 579 confirmed and 171 probable cases to date in Bandera County. That number reflects 90 new confirmed and 26 new probable cases for a total of 116 new cases, down from last week’s number of 147 new cases.

Hospitalizations in Texas increased slightly since last week, leaving only 317 available ICU beds in the entire state, according to DSHS.

The statewide hospitalization increased slightly last week, something Peterson Regional Medical Center saw a major decrease in comparatively, down to 20 from last week’s 41. The amount of people listed as being in the ICU remains at seven.

Bandera County’s vaccination rate continues to trickle upward, this week by less than half a percent compared to last week. This brings the numbers for 51.66 percent of ages five and up having received one dose, and 44.98 percent of that same age as fully vaccinated. Those numbers come from DSHS.

At a state level, A total of 16.896 million Texans are fully vaccinated, according to DSHS, which is 58 percent of the state’s population.