Comal County Reports Four Deaths, 38 New COVID-19 Cases Tuesday

Comal County reported four deaths and 38 new cases of COVID-19 today, March 9, bringing the total number of cases to 9,346.

Twenty-four of the new cases are confirmed and 14 are probable cases of the virus.

Dead are:

• A New Braunfels man in his 70s who died on Feb. 18
• A New Braunfels man in his 70s who died on Feb. 20 at a New Braunfels hospital
• A New Braunfels man in his 80s who died on Feb. 27 at a San Marcos hospital
• A Spring Branch woman in her 80s who died on Jan. 30

The total number of deceased is now 298.

There are now 411 active, confirmed-and-probable cases of COVID-19. Of those, 47 residents are hospitalized.  Twenty-eight recoveries were reported. The total recovered is 8,637.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Comal is now 78.17%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 12.72%. The Trauma Service Area (TSA) P percentage for Monday is 6.06%. 

On Tuesday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 14 COVID-19 patients. Of those, seven are in intensive care and six are 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 – 25
• North of Canyon Lake – 3
• South of Canyon Lake – 3
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 6
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 4
• 20’s – 5
• 30’s/40’s – 15
• 50’s/60’s – 8
• 70 and older – 6

Testing Information

As of Tuesday morning, Public Health reports

• 66,140  tests conducted
• 4,930 confirmed cases
• 4,396 probable cases
• 20 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 9,346 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 6,721
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,344
• South of Canyon Lake – 531
• North of Canyon Lake – 415
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 292
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 43

Vaccines

The Comal County COVID-19 vaccine standby list is open. Residents interested in receiving a COVID-19 who meet the criteria in Phase 1A and Phase 1B of the State of Texas’ vaccination plan, should visit mycomalcounty.com or check Comal County’s Facebook page for more information about the status of the list. Vaccines will be distributed to the public as they are received by Comal County and according to distribution guidelines established by the state.

Those who do not have a computer or need assistance can call 830-620-5575.

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.