County Adds 36 New Cases of COVID-19, Changes the Way It Reports Positivity Rates
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Comal County’s COVID-19 case count rose to 3,005 today after the Office of Public Health reported 36 new cases.
In a statement, the county also said it will no longer report the daily positivity rate, which was 14.97 percent on Monday. Instead, it will only release something called the “rolling seven-day positivity rate that reflects the pandemic numbers in a more timely fashion.”
The county reported a seven-day positivity rate for Tuesday of 9.147 percent. This replaces the use of a total positivity rate that dates back to March.
“The seven-day rolling positivity rate will replace the total positivity rate in order to better reflect the current number of active COVID-19 cases in Comal County,” said Public Health Director Cheryl Fraser. “This is the same metric used by the State of Texas on their COVID-19 dashboard, so it gives a better indication of Comal County’s numbers compared to numbers across the state.”
Of the 36 new cases reported today, 29 are confirmed and 7 are probable; 30 are New Braunfels-area residents, one is from the Bulverde/Spring Branch area, three live south of Canyon Lake, one lives north of Canyon Lake and one lives in the Garden Ridge area. Five are younger than 20, seven are in their 20s, eight are in their 30s or 40s, seven are in their 50s or 60s, and nine are older than 70.
Comal County also confirmed 40 more recoveries from COVID-19, for a total of 2,477. With 87 deaths, the county now has 441 active confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. Of them, 58 are hospitalized.
On Tuesday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 12 COVID-19 patients; of those, four are in intensive care beds, and three are on ventilators. Not all of these patients are necessarily county residents; likewise, not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.
As of Tuesday’s Statistics
- 20,105 tests conducted
- 2,382 confirmed cases
- 623 probable cases
Location Breakdown
Of the 3,005 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:
- 2,291 from the New Braunfels area, including eastern and central Comal County
- 407 from western Comal County, including Bulverde and Spring Branch
- 141 from south of Canyon Lake
- 84 from north of Canyon Lake, including Fischer
- 74 from southern Comal County, including Garden Ridge and Schertz
- 8 from Fair Oaks Ranch
Probable case definition
“Probable cases” 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 following three criteria:
- A positive quick-result antigen test
- Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
- Close contact with a confirmed positive COVID-19 case
A probable case is treated identically to a confirmed case and counts toward the county’s positivity rate and total case tally.
