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San Antonio's Metropolitan Health District will stop reporting some COVID-19 data online after the city ended its COVID-19 emergency declaration last week.

Why it matters: The move comes less than a week after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency and as the U.S. ended its federal emergency.

There were 587 new COVID-19 cases in Bexar County as of last week, the most recent number available Monday. Metro Health reported no new deaths last week.

The big picture: It's been more than three years since the WHO declared the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern — the global body's highest alert level. Since then, there have been more than 765 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, and nearly 7 million people have died of the virus worldwide.

Yes, but: COVID-19 isn't eradicated. The city's health department will continue to report COVID-19 cases and deaths weekly on its surveillance dashboard, a Metro Health spokesperson tells Axios.

COVID-19 is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., Axios' Tina Reed reports.

Context: For three years, San Antonians turned to Metro Health dashboards to gain a succinct understanding of how much the virus was spreading in the community at a given time. It aided many in planning vacations and holiday gatherings and helped determine the scope of large events.

Zoom in: Metro Health will end its reporting of local vaccination coverage levels, COVID-19 positivity rates, lab testing data and hospital trends, a spokesperson tells Axios.

It will also terminate a dashboard showing community risk level, which has offered a bird's-eye view of COVID-19 levels in San Antonio. The dashboard currently reports the risk level is low but steady.

What they're saying: "Public health remains a critical city service," city manager Erik Walsh said in a statement. "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 end of the COVID-19 emergency declaration is a key milestone for our community, public health workers and the overall nation," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement.

Details: As Metro Health winds down its data reporting, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop tracking COVID-19 community levels, Axios' Sabrina Moreno reports.

The federal government has also scaled back what hospitals and local health departments are required to report, including patients' age and ethnicity.

And without an emergency, states no longer have to divulge public health data, though wastewater surveillance and hospital admissions will continue to offer some clues.

Flashback: The city issued the public health emergency in 2020, and the City Council indefinitely extended it in June that year.

At the height of the pandemic, Nirenberg and then-Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff appeared regularly on television to communicate the state of the virus.

By the numbers: Metro Health has administered more than 626,000 COVID-19 tests, per a city news release. The department administered more than 226,700 COVID-19 vaccine doses at the Alamodome’s mass vaccination site across 15 months.

The city's COVID-19 hotline has answered more than 18,000 calls.

The health department hosted more than 600 outreach events, including pop-up vaccination clinics, over the course of the pandemic.

What's next: The city has been putting more local resources toward public health as it rolls out SA Forward, a new strategic plan for Metro Health's future.

Bexar County also has sought more local involvement in public health as leaders put federal COVID-19 relief dollars toward a new county public health division within University Health System.

San Antonio Metro Health slows COVID-19 data reporting

For three years, San Antonians turned to Metro Health COVID dashboards.

Illustration of a combination word balloon and covid particle, with the covid prongs retracting.

COVID-19

San Antonio&#x27;s Metropolitan Health District will stop reporting some COVID-19 data online after the city ended its COVID-19 emergency declaration last week.Why it matters: The move comes less than a week after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="no longer a global health emergency" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/05/covid-global-health-emergency-end-who" data-vars-content-id="2405c877-0258-400e-93b8-abae982551d4" data-vars-headline="San Antonio Metro Health slows COVID-19 data reporting" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/05/covid-global-health-emergency-end-who" target="_self">no longer a global health emergency</a> and as the U.S. ended its federal emergency.