San Antonio Leaders Reflect on End of the COVID-19 Declaration

Published on May 11, 2023

San Antonio Leaders Reflect on End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration

SAN ANTONIO (May 11, 2023) – Concurrent with the end of the federal COVID-19 emergency, Mayor Ron Nirenberg is terminating the local emergency declaration today.
 
Most resources to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 – vaccines, treatment, and testing - will remain available. The City will continue to use its resources, current programming, and website to share information with the community regarding how this transition in federal COVID-19 policies will impact them.
 
City of San Antonio leaders also reflect on and recognize the tireless efforts from City staff throughout the pandemic.
 
“Despite the hardships COVID-19 presented in our daily lives, we continued to thrive by helping our neighbors daily to get through this pandemic together,” says Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “The end of the COVID-19 emergency declaration is a key milestone for our community, public health workers, and the overall nation. I am proud of the Alamo City’s resilient and compassionate spirit and we will continue to ensure San Antonio is a healthier, stronger, and more equitable community for all.”
 
“Over the last three years, our Metro Health staff and public health workers all over the city served our community with resiliency,” adds City Manager Erik Walsh. “Although the emergency declaration ends today, public health remains a critical city service. We will continue to create a more inclusive public health approach by investing in programs that prevent diseases and enhance access to health care for all.” 

The Declaration of Disaster and Public Health Emergency was issued in 2020 and indefinitely extended by City Council in June that same year. Key achievements from the City’s COVID-19 response and recovery include:

• Metro Health launching its SA Forward Plan, the City’s strategic direction to improve the health of the overall community
• Operating 30 no-cost COVID-19 testing sites and administering more than 626,000 tests
• Improving vaccine access for vulnerable and marginalized populations by hosting more than 600 outreach events, including pop up vaccination clinics
• Launching one of the first COVID-19 online resource pages and dashboards in the nation
  Vaccinating 74% of San Antonio and Bexar County’s eligible population in 2022, a rate higher than the state and national average, becoming a national model
• Along with the San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD), administering more than 226,700 COVID-19 vaccine doses at the Alamodome’s mass vaccination site for 15 months early in the pandemic
• Increasing public perception on the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations through the City’s “What Will it Take” marketing campaign, featuring grassroots outreach and local artists and musicians amplifying the public health message
• City Council declaring racism as a public health crisis, which enhanced health equity efforts such as inaugurating the first ever Health Equity Symposium in 2022
• The COVID-19 hotline answered more than 18,000 calls
• The City distributed over 8,200 personal protective equipment to local small businesses
• The Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD) provided over $226 million to more than 70,000 families facing housing instability with rent, mortgage, and utilities assistance
• NHSD also supported San Antonio residents facing eviction virtually and in-person during the eviction process by partnering with the Justice of the Peace Courts and prevented evictions of over 1,599 individuals

The community is still advised to take safety measures to prevent the spread and contraction of COVID-19. The City of San Antonio continues to stress the importance of keeping up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations, as it is the main source of protection against this virus.