Friday: 81 New COVID-19 Cases, One Death and 79 COVID-19 Recoveries Reported in Comal County

Comal County reported 81 new cases of COVID-19 today and the death of a New Braunfels woman in her 60s who passed away at home on Sept. 9.

Fifty-four of the new COVID-19 cases are confirmed and 27 are probable, the county said in a statement. A total of 17,660 cases of the virus have been reported since March 2020.

There are now 1,662 active, confirmed-and-probable cases in the county. Of those, 30 are hospitalized. The number of deceased is now 405. Another 79 COVID-19 recoveries were reported, for a total of 15,593.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate is 15.78%, and the seven-day antigen positivity rate is 8.21%. The TSA P percentage is 15.88%.

County hospitals are caring for 46 COVID-19 patients. Twelve are in intensive care and seven are on ventilators.

Approximately 94% of these patients are unvaccinated.

Not all patients in Comal County hospitals are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 42
• North of Canyon Lake – 8
• South of Canyon Lake – 13
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 17
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 28
• 20’s – 4
• 30’s/40’s – 23
• 50’s/60’s – 19
• 70 and older – 7

Testing Information

As of Friday morning, Public Health reports

• 165,454 tests conducted
• 10,086 confirmed cases
• 7,550 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 17,660 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 11,937
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 2,835
• South of Canyon Lake – 1,209
• North of Canyon Lake – 1,012
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 587
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 80

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.

This includes a third dose of either vaccine for anyone who is moderately to severely immunocompromised.

People who meet the following criteria are now eligible for a third dose of Moderna or Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least four weeks after a second dose:

• Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
• Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system.
• Received a stem cell transplant within the last two years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system.
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge or Wiskott-Aldrich syndromes).
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection.
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress the immune system.

Those who received either a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine series should receive a third dose of the same mRNA vaccine. No additional doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine are currently recommended.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines for moderately to severely immunocompromised people, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Fraser told Commissioners Court today the flu vaccine will be available to county residents sometime in the next several weeks. She said it can be administered at the same time as a COVID-19  vaccine.

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.