Three new COVID deaths reported

Three new deaths in Bandera County were attributed to COVID-19, bringing the death count since the start of the pandemic to 46, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

DSHS listed 70 active cases in Bandera County as of Monday afternoon, down from last week’s count of 74.

The rise of deaths in Bandera County matched statewide trends for the last week, as the number of new COVID-19 cases in Texas dropped 34 percent to 83,098, and new deaths rose to 2,073, an increase of 15 percent.

Peterson Health hospital in Kerrville reported 16 hospitalizations as of Monday morning, two of which were vaccinated and seven of which were in the ICU. Statewide, COVIDrelated hospitalizations continue to decrease, with 10,349 reported by DSHS on Sunday, a decrease of 15 percent from last week.

At 280 deaths a day, Texas has one of the nation’s worst COVID-19 death rates, according to the Houston Chronicle earlier this month.