Comal County Reports 17 New Cases of COVID-19 Friday

Comal County reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Nine are confirmed cases and eight are probable cases. The total cases for the county is now 9,512. The total number of deceased remains at 303.

There are now 244 active, confirmed-and-probable cases of COVID-19. Of those, 42 residents are hospitalized.  Nineteen recoveries were reported. The total recovered is 8,965.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Comal is now 28.01%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 2.95%. The Trauma Service Area (TSA) P percentage for Thursday is 4.39%.

On Friday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for eight COVID-19 patients. Of those, three 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 county hospitals.

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 12
• North of Canyon Lake – 1
• South of Canyon Lake – 1
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 2
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 2
• 20s – 3
• 30’s/40’s – 4
• 50’s/60’s – 8
• 70 and older – 0

Testing Information

As of Friday Public Health reports

• 68,087 tests conducted
• 5,009 confirmed cases
• 4,482 probable cases
• 21 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 9,512 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 6,833
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,376
• South of Canyon Lake – 543
• North of Canyon Lake – 420
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 297
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 43

Vaccines

The Comal County COVID-19 vaccine standby list is open. Residents interested in receiving a COVID-19 who meet the criteria in Phase 1A, Phase 1B and Phase 1C of the State of Texas’ vaccination plan, should visit mycomalcounty.com or check Comal County’s Facebook page for more information about the status of the list. Vaccines will be distributed to the public as they are received by Comal County and according to distribution guidelines established by the state.

Those who do not have a computer or need assistance can call 830-620-5575.

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.