County’s Active Case Count Rises to 378, 78 New COVID-19 Cases Reported
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Comal County reported 78 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to 11,733 since reporting began in March 2020.
There are now 378 active, confirmed-and-probable cases in the county. Of those, 17 are hospitalized.
Forty-nine of the new cases are confirmed and 29 are probable cases.
Twenty-seven recoveries were added today, for a total of 11,064. The number of deceased remains 331.
On Friday, July 16, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 24 COVID-19 patients. Of those, five are in intensive care and one is on a ventilator. Not all of these patients are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.
The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Friday is 7.68%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 7.22%. The TSA P percentage is 4.06%, down slightly from 4.96% yesterday.
“We have definitely seen some improvement, but we are not out of the woods yet,” said Comal County Public Health Director Cheryl Fraser, referring to the decline in the TSA P. “COVID-19 numbers, including hospitalizations are climbing again and patients are younger then we have seen in the past. I would encourage everyone who has not received a COVID-19 vaccine to get vaccinated. Public Health is offering Pfizer for 12 years and older on Thursdays and Moderna for 18 years and older on Fridays.”
Location Breakdown of New Cases
- New Braunfels – 57
- North of Canyon Lake – 5
- South of Canyon Lake – 8
- South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
- Bulverde/Spring Branch – 7
- Fair Oaks – 0
Age Range of New Cases
- Under 20 – 6
- 20s – 17
- 30’s/40’s – 31
- 50s/60s – 20
- 70 and older – 4
Testing Information
As of Friday morning, Public Health reports
- 116,292 tests conducted
- 6,311 confirmed cases
- 5,438 probable cases
- 24 suspect cases
Location Breakdown of All Cases
Of the 11,773 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:
- New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 8,367
- Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,682
- South of Canyon Lake – 676
- North of Canyon Lake – 572
- Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 421
- 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.
