Thirty More Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Comal County Thursday

Comal County reported 30 additional cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the county total to 10,626.

Twenty-five are new COVID-19 cases and five are backlogged cases added to the county’s database.

Nineteen of the cases are confirmed and 11 are probable.

There are now 330 active, confirmed-and-probable cses of the virus in Comal County. Of those, seven are hospitalized.

Another 38 COVID-19 recoveries were reported today, for a total of 9,976. The number of deceased remains 320.

The seven-day molecular positivity rate for Thursday is 5.37%. The seven-day antigen positivity rate is 4.43%. The Trauma Service Area (TSA) P percentage is 3.68%.

On Thursday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 13 COVID-19 patients. Of those, three 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 – 19
• North of Canyon Lake – 0
• 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 – 9
• 20s – 3
• 30’s/40’s – 8
• 50s/60s – 9
• 70 and older -1

Testing Information

As of Thursday morning, Public Health reports

• 93,457 tests conducted
• 5,659 confirmed cases
• 4,943 probable cases
• 24 suspect cases

Location Breakdown of All Cases

Of the 10,626 confirmed-and-probable COVID-19 cases, the location breakdown is:

• New Braunfels (includes Eastern and Central Comal) – 7,535
• Western Comal County (includes Bulverde and Spring Branch) – 1,555
• South of Canyon Lake – 604
• North of Canyon Lake – 502
• Southern Comal County (includes Garden Ridge and Schertz) –377
• Fair Oaks Ranch – 53

Vaccines

The Public 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.

Comal County’s last mass COVID-19-vaccine clinic is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 19 with a final, second-dose clinic scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the New Braunfels Convention Center, 375 S. Castell.

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.