County Adds 179 New COVID-19 Cases Tuesday, Mostly in Residents Under 50

Comal County reported 179 new COVID-19 cases today, most of them in residents under the age of 50.

County hospitals are now caring for 95 COVID-19 patients. Of those, 17 are in intensive care, and four 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.

Today’s COVID-19 numbers include case counts reported over the weekend. The county added 114 new cases on Monday.

In a statement, county Public Information Officer Cary Zayas said the seven-day molecular positivity rate for Tuesday is 15.74%, and the seven-day antigen positivity rate is 16.97%. Today’s TSA P percentage is 16.95%.

Of the new cases reported today, 67 are confirmed, and 112 are probable cases.

There are now a record 1,365 active, confirmed-and-probable cases of the virus in Comal County. Of those, 38 residents are hospitalized.

Another 125 COVID-19 recoveries were reported today for a total of 11,908.

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 123
• North of Canyon Lake – 12
• South of Canyon Lake – 12
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 3
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 29
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 26 (includes two infants under 12 months of age)
• 20s – 28
• 30’s/40’s – 67
• 50s/60s – 45
• 70 and older – 13

Testing Information

As of Tuesday morning, Public Health reports

• 130,355 tests conducted
• 7,497 confirmed cases
• 6,096 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 13,617 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 9,538
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,984
• South of Canyon Lake – 854
• North of Canyon Lake – 710
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 471
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 60

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.