Four Deaths, 23 New COVID-19 Cases Reported by Comal County Wednesday

Comal County reported four more COVID-19 deaths today.

Dead are:

• A New Braunfels man in his 60s who died at home on Oct. 13.
• A New Braunfels man in his 90s who died at home on Oct. 13.
• A New Braunfels woman in her 70s who died at a San Antonio hospital on Oct. 15.
• A New Braunfels man in his 90s who died Oct. 18 at a New Braunfels hospital.

The number of deceased is now 451.

In a statement, the county also reported 23 new cases of the virus and 27 recoveries.

Twelve of the new cases are confirmed and 11 are probable. The county’s COVID-19 total is now 19,414. Some 18,522 recoveries have been reported since March 2020.

The number of active, confirmed-and-probable cases in the county is 411. Of those, 26 people are hospitalized.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate is 4.92%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 6.81%. The TSAP is 5.22%.

Comal County hospitals are caring for 21 COVID-19 patients. Of those, four are in intensive care and two are on ventilators. Approximately 100% of these patients are unvaccinated.

Not all patients in Comal County hospitals are necessarily county residents. Not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.

Location Breakdown of New Cases

• New Braunfels – 10
• North of Canyon Lake – 2
• South of Canyon Lake – 1
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 2
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 7
• Fair Oaks – 1

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 6
• 20’s – 3
• 30’s/40’s – 9
• 50’s/60’s – 4
• 70 and older – 1

Testing Information

As of Wednesday morning, Public Health reports

• 190,148 tests conducted
• 11,183 confirmed cases
• 8,207 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 19,414 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 13,008
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 3,159
• South of Canyon Lake – 1,369
• North of Canyon Lake – 1,134
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 655
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 89

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.

Those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised and qualify for a third dose can call to schedule an appointment for a vaccine.

Appointments can be made by calling 830-221-1150.

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.