Canyon Lake Man in His 40s Dies of COVID-19 Monday, County Reports 177 New Cases
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A Canyon Lake man in his 40s died of COVID-19 Monday at a New Braunfels hospital.
In a statement Tuesday, Comal County also confirmed the death of a New Braunfels woman in her 70s who passed away on Aug. 19 at a Seguin hospital.
The total number of deceased is now 362.
Comal County Public Information Officer Cary Zayas also reported 177 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the county’s total to 15,235 since reporting began in March 2020. Of the new cases, 103 are confirmed and 74 are probable.
There are now 1,537 active, confirmed-and-probable cases in the county. Of those, 55 are hospitalized. Another 83 COVID-19 recoveries were reported, for a total of 13,336.
County hospitals reported caring for 88 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday. Of those, 18 are in intensive care, and 12 are on ventilators.
Approximately 93% of these patients are unvaccinated.
“The hospitals are finding that most of the COVID patients are unvaccinated and very ill,” Public Health Director Cheryl Fraser said. “This puts a real burden on an already strained and understaffed healthcare system.”
Not all patients in Comal County hospitals are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.
The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Wednesday is 16.70%, and the seven-day antigen positivity rate is 10.35%. The TSA P percentage is 22.05%.
Location Breakdown of New Cases
- New Braunfels – 97
- North of Canyon Lake – 18
- South of Canyon Lake – 23
- South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 8
- Bulverde/Spring Branch – 30
- Fair Oaks – 1
Age Range of New Cases
- Under 20 – 32 (includes an infant under 12 months of age)
- 20s – 30
- 30’s/40’s – 72
- 50s/60s – 30
- 70 and older – 13
Testing Information
As of Wednesday morning, Public Health reports
- 142,853 tests conducted
- 8,545 confirmed cases
- 6,666 probable cases
- 24 suspect cases
Location Breakdown of All Cases
Of the 15,235 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:
- New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 10,547
- Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 2,276
- South of Canyon Lake – 995
- North of Canyon Lake – 824
- Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 524
- Fair Oaks Ranch – 69
Vaccinations
Comal County’s Public Health Department is now administering Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to those 18 years and older and Pfizer vaccines for anyone 12 years and older.
The Pfizer vaccine is now fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anyone who hasn’t received the Moderna vaccine can ask to receive the Pfizer shot.
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.
