One Death, 45 Additional COVID-19 Cases Reported Wednesday; County Firms Up Plans for Vaccinating Children
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A New Braunfels man in his 70s died Monday from COVID-19 at a New Braunfels hospital, Comal County said in a statement today.
The total number of deceased is now 320.
Of the 45 cases of COVID-19 reported today, 22 are new and 23 are backlogged cases added to county data.
Twenty-one are confirmed cases and 24 are probable cases, for a total of 10,596.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Advisory Committee is expected to approve the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 later today. Comal County’s Public Health Department will distribute the Pfizer vaccine for this new age group in the near future.
Comal County Public Information Officer Cary Zayas said the county will issue a formal statement later today.
Comal County now has 338 active, confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases. Of those, six are hospitalized.
Another 63 COVID-19 recoveries were reported today, for a total of 9,938.
The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Wednesday is 4.55%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 5.03%. The Trauma Service Area (TSA) P percentage is 3.68%.
On Wednesday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 10 COVID-19 patients. Of those, four are in intensive care and one is on a ventilator. 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 – 25
- North of Canyon Lake – 5
- South of Canyon Lake – 3
- South Comal County (Garden Ridge) – 3
- Bulverde/Spring Branch – 0
- Fair Oaks – 0
Age Range of New Cases
- Under 20 – 9 (includes one infant younger than 12 months)
- 20s – 8
- 30’s/40’s – 11
- 50s/60s – 15
- 70 and older – 2
Testing Information
As of Wedneday morning, Public Health reports
- 92,688 tests conducted
- 5,640 confirmed cases
- 4,932 probable cases
- 24 suspect cases
Location Breakdown of All Cases
Of the 10,596 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:
- New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 7,516
- Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,548
- South of Canyon Lake – 603
- North of Canyon Lake – 502
- Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) –375
- Fair Oaks Ranch – 52
Vaccines
The Health Department administers the Moderna vaccine, which is used for those 18 years-of-age and older. Vaccines will be distributed to the public as they are received by Comal County and according to all state distribution guidelines.
To schedule a vaccine, visit mycomalcounty.com.
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.
