Comal County Reports 182 New COVID-19 Cases, One Death Thursday

Comal County’s COVID-19 active case count rose to 1,122 today with 182 new cases added and one death reported.

A Garden Ridge man in his 80s died July 18 at a San Antonio hospital.

Of the new cases reported today, 125 are confirmed and 57 are probable cases. Twenty-nine residents included in today’s active, confirmed-and-probable case count are hospitalized.

County hospitals are caring for 58 COVID-19 patients. Of those, 14 are in intensive care and three are on ventilators. Not all patients in Comal County hospitals are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.

In Commissioners Court Thursday, Public Health Director Cheryl Fraser said county hospitals had 14 patients waiting in emergency departments for beds. Although not all of the cases may be COVID-19 related, “It just shows their capacity.”

The total number of deceased is now 342. Another 118 COVID-19 recoveries were reported today for a total of 11,697.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Thursday is 15.68%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 13.82%. The TSA P percentage is 12.87%.

Fraser said over 84,000 Comal County residents are fully vaccinated.

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 113
• North of Canyon Lake – 14
• South of Canyon Lake – 19
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 11
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 24
• Fair Oaks – 1

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 26 (includes one infant under 12 months of age)
• 20s – 25
• 30’s/40’s – 65
• 50s/60s – 55
• 70 and older – 11

Testing Information

As of Thursday morning, Public Health reports

• 127,225 tests conducted
• 7,239 confirmed cases
• 5,898 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 13,161 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 9,240
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,912
• South of Canyon Lake – 819
• North of Canyon Lake – 671
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 460
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 59

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.

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.