Comal County Adds 46 New COVID-19 Cases, Four of Them in Canyon Lake

Comal County added 46 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, four of them in Canyon Lake, for a total of 2,359.

The county ‘s positivity rate is now 15.48%, up from 15.24% on Thursday and down from 16.47% one week ago.

Of the new cases, 41 are confirmed and five are probable; 36 are New Braunfels-area residents, five are from the Bulverde/Spring Branch area, two live south of Canyon Lake, two live north of Canyon Lake, and one lives in the Garden Ridge area. Nineteen are younger than 30, including an infant under 12 months old; nine are in their 30s or 40s; 15 are in their 50s or 60s, and three are older than 70.

In a statement, Comal County also confirmed 21 more recoveries from COVID-19, for a total of 1,850. With 60 deaths, the county now has 449 active confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. Of them, 68 are hospitalized, unchanged from Thursday.

On Friday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 26 COVID-19 patients; 14 of those are in intensive care beds, and eight 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.

Friday’s Statistics

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

• 15,235 tests conducted
• 1,816 confirmed cases
• 543 probable cases

Location Breakdown

Of the 2,359 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• 1,797 from the New Braunfels area, including eastern and central Comal County
• 333 from western Comal County, including Bulverde and Spring Branch
• 117 from south of Canyon Lake
• 57 from north of Canyon Lake, including Fischer
• 47 from southern Comal County, including Garden Ridge and Schertz
• 8 from Fair Oaks Ranch

Nursing Home Update

Long-term residential care facilities in Comal County had reported the following active cases as of Friday:

• Colonial Manor, New Braunfels: 66 cases (44 residents, 22 staff), 8 deaths
• Kirkwood Manor, New Braunfels: 37 cases (36 residents, 1 staff), 14 deaths
• Village of Garden Ridge: 8 cases (6 residents, 2 staff)
• Heights of Bulverde: 4 cases (3 residents, 1 staff), 9 deaths
• Elan Westpointe, New Braunfels: 4 cases (1 resident, 3 staff)
• Memory Care of New Braunfels: 2 cases (staff)
• Sodalis Elder Care, New Braunfels: 5 cases (4 residents, 1 staff), 1 death*
• Sodalis Elder Care, Garden Ridge: 5 cases (3 residents, 2 staff)
• Sundance Inn, New Braunfels: 2 cases (staff)
• Rio Terra, New Braunfels: 2 cases (staff)
• Brookdale Senior Living, New Braunfels: 1 case (staff)
• River Gardens, New Braunfels: 0 active cases, 1 death
• Legend Oaks, New Braunfels: 0 active cases, 1 death

* Case numbers from Sodalis Senior Living in New Braunfels may reflect non-county residents because that facility is accepting COVID-19 patients from other Sodalis facilities outside the county. The number of deaths reflects only Comal County residents.

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.