New Braunfels Woman in Her 60s Dies of COVID-19 as Cases Surge in Comal County

Comal County reported 73 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to 11,846 since reporting began in March 2020.

There are now 423 active, confirmed-and-probable cases in the county, up from the 378 reported on Friday. Of those, 16 are hospitalized.

Comal County Public Information Officer Cary Zayas said there are no confirmed cases of the Delta variant. This information is provided by Texas Department of Health and Human Services.

In a statement, the county confirmed the death of a New Braunfels woman in her 60s who died from the virus in a hospital on July 12.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate is 8.23%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 8.13%. The TSA P percentage is 4.56%.

Fifty-one of the new cases are confirmed and 22 are probable cases.

Twenty-seven recoveries were added today, for a total of 11,091. The number of deceased is now 332.

On Monday, July 19, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 30 COVID-19 patients. Of those, six are in intensive care and three are on ventilators. Not all of these patients are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.

Weekend case counts will be included in Tuesday’s press release, Zayas said.

Nikela Pradier, a public relations specialist with CHRISTUR Santa Rosa Hospital, said hospitals do not release information about the vaccination status of hospitalized patients.

“CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital – New Braunfels continues to answer the call to treat COVID patients in our community,” she said. “Since new variants have been detected and mask mandates have been lifted, there has been a moderate increase in hospitalizations. However, overall numbers remain low compared to the peaks of the pandemic in prior months.”

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 52
• North of Canyon Lake – 0
• South of Canyon Lake – 6
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 2
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 13
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 21
• 20s – 8
• 30’s/40’s – 29
• 50s/60s – 13
• 70 and older – 2

Testing Information

As of Monday morning, Public Health reports

• 116,718 tests conducted
• 6,362 confirmed cases
• 5,460 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 11,846 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 8,419
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,695
• South of Canyon Lake – 682
• North of Canyon Lake – 572
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 423
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 55

Vaccinations

Comal County’s Public Health Department is now administering Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to those 18 years and older on Fridays and Pfizer vaccines for anyone 12 years and older on Thursdays.

Probable Cases

“Probable case” is a category established by the Texas Department of State Health Services to describe those who do not have a positive PCR test for COVID-19 but meet two of the three criteria:

• Meets clinical criteria and epidemiologic linkage with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for SARS-CoV-2.
• Meets presumptive laboratory evidence, which is the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by antigen test in a respiratory specimen.
• Meets vital records criteria with no confirmatory laboratory evidence for SARS-CoV-2.

A probable case is treated identically to a confirmed case and counts toward the county’s positivity rate and total case tally.

Suspected Cases

A ‘suspect’ case meets supportive laboratory evidence with no prior history of being a confirmed or probable case. It is also counted toward the total case tally. Supportive laboratory evidence means:

• • Detection of a specific antibody in serum, plasma, or whole blood.
  • Detection of specific antigen by immunocytochemistry in an autopsy specimen.