Comal County Reports Three COVID-19 Deaths, 32 New Cases Friday

Comal County reported the COVID-19 death of three residents Friday.

Dead are:

• A New Braunfels man in his 50s who died at home on Oct. 19.
• A New Braunfels woman in her 60s who died Oct. 18 at a New Braunfels hospital.
• A Bulverde man in his 60s who died Oct. 10 at a San Antonio hospital.

The total number of deceased is now 455.

In a statement, the county also reported 32 new cases of the virus and 30 recoveries.

Twenty-seven of the new cases are confirmed and five are probable.

The county’s COVID-19 total is now 19,490. Some 18,623 recoveries have been reported since March 2020.

The number of active, confirmed-and-probable cases in the county is 412. Of those, 26 people are hospitalized.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate is 5.57%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 6.38%. The TSAP is 4.84%.

Comal County hospitals are caring for 16 COVID-19 patients. Of those, three are in intensive care and one is on a ventilator. Approximately 100% 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 – 24
• North of Canyon Lake – 1
• South of Canyon Lake – 0
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 6
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 4
• 20’s – 4
• 30’s/40’s – 10
• 50’s/60’s – 11
• 70 and older – 3

Testing Information

As of Friday morning, Public Health reports

• 191,164 tests conducted
• 11,237 confirmed cases
• 8,229 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 19,490 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 13,059
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 3,174
• South of Canyon Lake – 1,372
• North of Canyon Lake – 1,139
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 657
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 89

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.

Those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised and qualify for a third dose can call to schedule an appointment for a vaccine.

Appointments can be made by calling 830-221-1150.

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.