Author: Gerald Tracy (News4SA)
SAN ANTONIO – A city councilwoman Friday evening spoke about how her family has seen 14 people come down with COVID-19, six of those have died.
Dr. Adriana Rocha Garcia, Councilwoman for District 4, warned residents to remain weary as she gave insight into her own personal situation.
“Six of my cousins have passed away from COVID and they all had underlying health conditions,” Dr. Rocha Garcia said. “But at one point 14 of my cousins, on both sides of the family, were in the hospital. A lot of them were on a ventilator, some of them got plasma and they recovered, but unfortunately, we lost six of them.”
The councilwoman continued, saying all of the cousins were on her father’s side of the family, hitting him hard.
“He had been crying every day and the sad part is I couldn’t even hug him because we want to make sure he stays health and my mom stays healthy,” Dr. Rocha Garcia explained, saying she can’t even get her nightly kiss or hugs from her parents anymore.
However, she said these cases caused her to look deeper into the community she represents. The councilwoman said she requested numbers and discovered 13.5 percent of COVID-19 cases are from her district and 11 percent of those are dying.
“Every single day when the mayor was giving new counts, new cases, I could associate with some of those,’ she said. “A portion of those were people I loved.”
Dr. Rocha Garcia said because of these numbers, she reached out to Interim Metro Health Director Dr. Colleen Bridger about finding a way to better inform her district.
The two have come up with a plan to survey residents about what they need to be given to better protect themselves, whether it be information, access to better food, masks or so on.
This survey started Friday and will continue in District 4 until Sunday. She said the same team will also be making its way through District 2, 3 and 5 to speak with households during August. The plans are to have better materials for residents available Aug. 27.