Comal County Reports Three More COVID-19 Deaths, 109 New Cases

Three more Comal County residents have died of COVID-19, the county said in a statement today.

Dead are:

• A New Braunfels man in his 70s who died Friday at a New Braunfels hospital.
• A New Braunfels woman in her 60s who died Wednesday at a New Braunfels hospital.
• A Bulverde man in his 70s who died Sept. 26 at a San Antonio hospital.

The total number of deceased is now 438.

Another 109 new COVID-19 cases were reported today, bringing the county’s total to 19,006. Eighty-three of the new ones are confirmed and 26 are probable cases.

In a statement, the county said the number of active, confirmed-and-probable cases fell to 702. Of those, 17 are hospitalized.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate is 5.10%, and the seven-day antigen positivity rate is 5.34%. The TSA P percentage is 8%.

County hospitals are caring for 22 patients with COVID-19. Eight are in intensive care and four are on ventilators.

Approximately 85% 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 – 59
• North of Canyon Lake – 13
• South of Canyon Lake – 11
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) -5
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 21
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 13 (includes an infant under 12 months of age)
• 20’s – 21
• 30’s/40’s – 38
• 50’s/60’s – 23
• 70 and older – 13

Testing Information

As of Tuesday morning, Public Health reports

• 182,466 tests conducted
• 10,930 confirmed cases
• 8,052 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 19,006 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 12,734
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 3,090
• South of Canyon Lake – 1,333
• North of Canyon Lake – 1,119
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 643
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 87

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.