Five More New Braunfels Residents Dead from COVID-19, Comal County Reports 127 New Cases
Share
Comal County confirmed five more COVID-19 deaths and 127 new cases of the virus in a statement issued today.
The deceased are:
- A New Braunfels woman in her 50s who died on Dec. 13
- A New Braunfels man in his 80s who died on Dec. 14
- A New Braunfels man in his 80s who died on Dec. 15
- A woman in her 60s who died on Dec. 20
- A woman in her 90s who died on Dec. 23
Fourteen of the new cases are confirmed and 113 are probable. There are now 708 active, confirmed-and-probable cases of COVID-19 in the county. Of those, 55 are hospitalized, county Public Information Officer Cary Zayas said.
The seven-day molecular positivity rate is 19.15%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 17.50%.
On Friday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 82 COVID-19 patients. Of those, 16 are in intensive care and 14 are on ventilators. Not all of these patients are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in county hospitals.
Another 95 COVID-19 recoveries were reported, for a total of 5,504.
The percentage for Texas Trauma Service Area (TSA) P, which includes Comal County, is 18.24. County bars closed and businesses were ordered to operate at 50-percent capacity on Dec. 28 after hospitalization rates exceeded 15-percent or more of total hospital capacity with COVID-19 for seven consecutive days.
These restrictions will remain in place until TSA P reports seven consecutive days at 15% or less.
Location Breakdown of New Cases
New Braunfels – 108
North of Canyon Lake – 4
South of Canyon Lake – 5
S. Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 1
Bulverde/Spring Branch – 9
Fair Oaks – 0
Age Range of New Cases
Under 20 – 12
20’s – 29
30’s/40’s – 43
50s/60s – 35
70 and older – 8
Testing Information
As of Friday morning, Public Health reports
- 44,307 tests conducted
- 3,913 confirmed cases
- 2,453 probable cases
- 9 suspect cases
Location Breakdown of All Cases
Of the 6,735 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:
New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 4,646
Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 927
South of Canyon Lake – 347
North of Canyon Lake – 247
Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 185
Fair Oaks Ranch – 23
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 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 towards the total case tally. Supportive laboratory evidence means:
- Detection of specific antibody in serum, plasma or whole blood.
- Detection of specific antigen by immunocytochemistry in an autopsy specimen.
