Comal County Reports Two Deaths, 67 New COVID-19 Cases Friday

Comal County reported two COVID-19 deaths and 67 new cases of the virus today.

Dead are:

• A Canyon Lake man in his 70s who died Sept. 21 at a New Braunfels hospital.
• A Bulverde woman in her 60s who died Sept. 20 at a San Antonio hospital.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in Comal County now stands at 426. Some 18,568 cases of the virus have been reported since March 2020. Another 79 recoveries were added today, for a total of 17,215.

In a statement, the county said 40 of the new cases are confirmed and 27 are probable cases.

The number of active cases is 927. Of those, 28 residents are hospitalized.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate is 10.70%, and the seven-day antigen positivity rate is 8.58%. The TSA P percentage is 11.34%.

County hospitals are caring for 41 COVID-19 cases. Twelve patients are in intensive care and 10 are on ventilators.

Approximately 94% 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 – 40
• North of Canyon Lake – 3
• South of Canyon Lake – 5
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 18
• Fair Oaks -0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 14
• 20’s – 9
• 30’s/40’s – 22
• 50’s/60’s – 13
• 70 and older – 9

Testing Information

As of Friday morning, Public Health reports

• 174,556 tests conducted
• 10,643 confirmed cases
• 7,901 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 18,568 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 12,460
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 3,010
• South of Canyon Lake – 1,299
• North of Canyon Lake – 1,085
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 631
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 83

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.