County Announces Two More Deaths, 24 New Cases and a New Metric for Reporting COVID-19

Comal County confirmed two new deaths related to COVID-19 today, for a total of 87, and reported 24 new cases of the disease.

Public Health also announced a new metric for reporting the positivity rate, or the percentage of patients who have positive tests.

Comal County’s positivity rate is now 14.97%, a slight increase from Friday’s rate of 14.87%. but county said in a statement today that a “rolling seven-day positivity” rate better reflects the actual state of the epidemic as it occurs. The seven-day positivity rate for Monday is 7.275%.

A New Braunfels man in his 60s who lived at Colonial Manor in New Braunfels died July 31 in a New Braunfels hospital. A New Braunfels man in his 80s who was hospitalized died on July 1 in a San Antonio hospital. The deaths were reported to Public Health on August 28.

Of the 24 new cases, 14 are confirmed and 10 are probable; 18 are New Braunfels-area residents, three are from the Bulverde/Spring Branch area, one lives south of Canyon Lake, one lives north of Canyon Lake and one lives in the Garden Ridge area. One is younger than 20, five are in their 20s, six are in their 30s or 40s, six are in their 50s or 60s, and six are older than 70.

Comal County also confirmed 14 more recoveries from COVID-19, for a total of 2,437. With 87 deaths, the county now has 445 active confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. Of them, 58 are hospitalized.

On Monday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 11 COVID-19 patients; of those, five 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.

Monday’s Statistics

• 19,832 tests conducted
• 2,353 confirmed cases
• 616 probable cases

Comal County’s positivity rate is now 14.97%, a slight increase from Friday’s rate of 14.87%.

Public Health has been working on developing a rolling seven day positivity rate that better reflects the actual state of the epidemic as it occurs. The seven day positivity rate for Monday is 7.275%.

Location Breakdown

Of the 2,969 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• 2,261 from the New Braunfels area, including eastern and central Comal County
• 406 from western Comal County, including Bulverde and Spring Branch
• 138 from south of Canyon Lake
• 83 from north of Canyon Lake, including Fischer
• 73 from southern Comal County, including Garden Ridge and Schertz
• 8 from Fair Oaks Ranch

Residents wishing to be tested for COVID-19 can call the county’s dedicated hotline, 830-221-1120, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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.