County Adds 14 New COVID-19 Cases, Reports 20 Recoveries Wednesday

Comal County reported 14 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the total to 11,344 cases since March 2020.

In a statement, county Public Information Officer Cary Zayas said eight of the new cases are confirmed and six are probable.

Another 20 COVID-19 recoveries were added, bringing the total recovered to 10,801, the county said in a statement.

There are now 218 active, confirmed-and-probable cases of COVID-19 in Comal County. Of those, 10 are hospitalized.

The total number of deceased remains 325.

The county’s seven-day molecular positivity rate for Wednesday is 4.81%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 6.77%. The Trauma Service Area (TSA) P percentage is 2.62%.

On Wednesday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 12 COVID-19 patients. Of those, three are 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 – 9
• North of Canyon Lake – 1
• South of Canyon Lake – 1
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 2
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 3
• 20s – 0
• 30’s/40’s – 6
• 50s/60s – 3
• 70 and older -2

Testing Information

As of Wednesday morning, Public Health reports

• 110,240 tests conducted
• 6,077 confirmed cases
• 5,243 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 11,344 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 8,070
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,630
• South of Canyon Lake – 643
• North of Canyon Lake – 537
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) –409
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 55

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.