Four More Residents Die of COVID-19, County Adds 17 New COVID-19 Cases Monday

Comal County reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths from the virus on Monday.

Six are confirmed cases of the virus and 11 are probable cases. Total cases for the county are now 9,436. The number of deceased is now 302.

Dead are:

• A New Braunfels man in his 80s who died on March 10 at a New Braunfels hospital
• A New Braunfels man in his 80s who died on Feb. 28
• A New Braunfels woman in her 80s who died on Feb. 25
• A Spring Branch man in his 70s who died on Feb. 22 at a San Antonio hospital

There are now 296 active, confirmed-and-probable cases of COVID-19. Of those, 42 residents are hospitalized.  Forty-two recoveries were reported. The total recovered is 8,838.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Comal is now 30.43%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 4.51%. The Trauma Service Area (TSA) P percentage for Thursday is 5.07%.

On Monday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for nine COVID-19 patients. Of those, three are in intensive care and three 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 – 13
• North of Canyon Lake – 0
• South of Canyon Lake – 2
• South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 0
• Bulverde/Spring Branch – 2
• Fair Oaks – 0

Age Range of New Cases

• Under 20 – 4
• 20s – 1
• 30’s/40’s – 8
• 50’s/60’s – 3
• 70 and older – 1

Testing Information

As of Monday, Public Health reports

• 67,900 tests conducted
• 4,961 confirmed cases
• 4,454 probable cases
• 21 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 9,436 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 6,776
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,365
• South of Canyon Lake – 541
• North of Canyon Lake – 416
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) – 295
• 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, Phase 1B and Phase 1C 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.