Comal County Confirms First Two Cases of Delta Variant Friday
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Two New Braunfels residents who have since recovered from COVID-19 are Comal County’s first confirmed cases of the highly contangious Delta variant.
Comal County Public Information Officer Cary Zayas said in a statement that it takes three weeks to receive results on samples sent for testing.
Also Friday, the county said it added 59 new cases of COVID-19. Comal County hospitals reported caring for 54 COVID-19 patients. Of those, 10 are in intensive care and two are on ventilators.
Twenty-three of the 798 residents included in the active, confirmed-and-probable case count are hospitalized.
Twenty-three of the new cases were reported in residents under the age of 20, the county said.
Of the new cases reported today, 36 are confirmed and 23 are probable cases. Total cases reported since reporting began in 2020 now stands at 12,577. Another 71 recoveries were added, bringing the total recovered to 11,444. The total number of deceased remains 335.
The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Friday is 11.85%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 7.82%. The TSA P percentage is 9.34%.
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 – 38
- North of Canyon Lake – 6
- South of Canyon Lake – 6
- South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
- Bulverde/Spring Branch – 8
- Fair Oaks – 0
Age Range of New Cases
- Under 20 – 23
- 20s – 13
- 30’s/40’s – 12
- 50s/60s – 7
- 70 and older – 4
Testing Information
As of Friday morning, Public Health reports
- 123,928 tests conducted
- 6,844 confirmed cases
- 5,709 probable cases
- 24 suspect cases
Location Breakdown of All Cases
Of the 12,577 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:
- New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 8,867
- Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,819
- South of Canyon Lake – 761
- North of Canyon Lake – 632
- Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 441
- Fair Oaks Ranch – 57
Across Texas
According to data on Texas Department of State Health Services’ website today, as of July 29 there were 78,939 active, 2,628,438 confirmed and 468,318 probable cases of COVID-19. Some 2,928,484 recoveries were reported.
DSHS reported 6,347 new confirmed cases, 1,876 probable cases, and 35 fatalities from the virus.
Guadalupe County no longer issues press releases about the virus, but according to DSHS website there are 12,452 confirmed, 4,176 probable, and 474 active COVID-19 cases as of July 29. Some 15,898 recoveries were reported.
Hays County reported 20,393 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on July 29, with a weekly increase of 651 cases. 269 deaths were reported.
Blanco County reported 666 confirmed cases of the virus this week. No cases were added.
According to today’s Texas Tribune, the number of hospitalized Texans has increased to levels not seen since February. Hospitalizations increased by 1,970 patients compared with a week ago. As of July 29, 5,552 Texans are hospitalized for hte virus.
Almost 44% of all Texans are fully vaccinated. As of July 28, 14.8 million Texans or 50.9% of all Texans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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.
