Five New Braunfels Residents Die of COVID-19, County Adds Another 80 Cases on Tuesday
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Five New Braunfels residents have died of COVID-19 since Dec. 18, Comal County confirmed in a statement today.
A man in his 50s and a man in his 80s both passed away on Dec. 18. On Dec. 19, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s died. On Dec. 20, a woman in her 40’s passed away from the virus. The total number of deceased is 146.
The county also reported another 80 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to 5,840. Twenty are confirmed cases and 60 are probable.
Comal County’s seven-day molecular positivity rate for Monday is 18.29%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 18.99%.
The county now has 773 active, confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases. Of those, 46 are hospitalized.
Tuesday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 62 COVID-19 patients. Of those, 15 are in intensive care and eleven 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 – 67
North of Canyon Lake – 5
South of Canyon Lake – 6
S. Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 0
Bulverde/Spring Branch – 2
Fair Oaks – 10
Age Range of New Cases
Under 20 – 7 (includes an infant less than 12-months-old)
20’s – 15
30’s/40’s – 22
50s/60s – 25
70 and older – 11
Testing Information
As of Tuesday morning, Public Health reports
- 40,826 tests conducted
- 3,807 confirmed cases
- 2,024 probable cases
- 9 suspect cases
Location Breakdown of All Cases
Of the 5,840 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:
New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 4,239
Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 862
South of Canyon Lake – 314
North of Canyon Lake – 224
Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ride and Schertz) – 179
Fair Oaks Ranch – 22
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.
