Office of Public Health Reports 44 New Cases of COVID-19, Seven Deaths Confirmed

Comal County confirmed seven more deaths related to COVID-19 today, bringing the death toll to 52 residents.

Another 44 cases of the disease also were reported to the Office of Public Health, for a total of 2,101 recorded since the pandemic began, the county said in a statement. The county’s positivity rate now stands at 16.36 percent, essentially unchanged from Tuesday’s rate of 16.37 percent.

Of the 44 new cases, 33 are confirmed and 11 are probable; 36 are New Braunfels-area residents, three are from the Bulverde/Spring Branch area, three live south of Canyon Lake, one lives north of Canyon Lake, and one lives in Fair Oaks Ranch. Thirteen are younger than 30, 16 are in their 30s or 40s, 10 are in their 50s or 60s, and five are older than 70.

COVID-19 Deaths

The deaths reported to Public Health on Tuesday are:

• A Bulverde man in his 90s died June 29 in a Harlingen hospital.
• A New Braunfels man in his 70s died July 4 in a New Braunfels hospital.
• A New Braunfels man in his 60s died Thursday in a New Braunfels hospital.
• A New Braunfels man in his 50s died Friday in a New Braunfels hospital.
• A man in his 80s who lived at Kirkwood Manor in New Braunfels died Friday in a New Braunfels hospital.
• A woman in her 70s who lived at Kirkwood Manor died Saturday in a New Braunfels hospital, marking the 13th COVID-19 death among residents of the facility since the pandemic began.
• A New Braunfels man in his 70s died Sunday in a New Braunfels hospital.

Recoveries & Hospitalizations

The county also confirmed 44 more recoveries from COVID-19, for a total of 928. With 52 deaths, the county now has 1,121 active confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. Of them, 62 are hospitalized, a decrease of eight.

On Wednesday morning, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 46 COVID-19 patients; of those, 17 are in intensive care beds, and 10 are on ventilators. Not all of these patients are necessarily county residents; likewise, not all county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 are in Comal County hospitals.

Wednesday’s Numbers

As of Wednesday morning, Public Health has received reports of the following test information:

• 12,841 tests conducted
• 1,635 confirmed cases
• 466 probable cases

Location Breakdown

Of the 2,101 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• 1,579 from the New Braunfels area, including eastern and central Comal County
• 315 from western Comal County, including Bulverde and Spring Branch
• 108 from south of Canyon Lake
• 49 from north of Canyon Lake, including Fischer
• 42 from southern Comal County, including Garden Ridge and Schertz
• 8 from Fair Oaks Ranch

Probable case definition

“Probable cases” 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 following three criteria:

• A positive quick-result antigen test
• Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
• Close contact with a confirmed positive COVID-19 case

A probable case is treated identically to a confirmed case and counts toward the county’s positivity rate and total case tally.