Comal County Adds 23 New, Seven Backlogged Cases of COVID-19 Thursday

Comal County reported 30 additional cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the total to 11,035.

Twenty-three are new cases and seven are backlogged cases being added to county data. Fourteen are confirmed cases and 16 are probable cases.

There are now 196 active, confirmed-and-probable cases of the virus in Comal County. Of those, two are hospitalized.

Another 16 COVID-19 recoveries were reported, for a total of 10,516. The total number of deceased remains at 323.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Thursday is 3.45%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 4.41%. The Trauma Service Area (TSA) P percentage is 2.37%.

On Thursday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for six COVID-19 patients. Of those, one is in intensive care. There are no patients on ventilators. Not all of these patients are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in county hospitals.

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 17
• North of Canyon Lake – 3
• South of Canyon Lake – 4
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 2
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 4
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 10
• 20s – 3
• 30’s/40’s – 10
• 50s/60s – 6
• 70 and older -1

Testing Information

As of Thursday morning, Public Health reports

• 103,883 tests conducted
• 5,903 confirmed cases
• 5,108 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 11,035 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 7,821
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,605
• South of Canyon Lake – 628
• North of Canyon Lake – 526
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) –401
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 54

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.