Comal County Reports 56 New Cases and 60th Death from COVID-19

A New Braunfels woman in her 60s died of COVID-19 on Monday after she discharged herself from a New Braunfels hospital.

In a statement on Wednesday, Comal County said hers is the 60th death from COVID-19.

The county also reported 56 new cases of the virus and confirmed 223 more recoveries from COVID-19, for a total of 1,589 recoveries.

Forty-three are confirmed and 13 are probable; 51 are New Braunfels-area residents, three are from the Bulverde/Spring Branch area, one lives south of Canyon Lake, and one lives north of Canyon Lake. Sixteen are younger than 30, 16 are in their 30s or 40s, 17 are in their 50s or 60s, and seven are older than 70.

Comal County’s positivity rate is now 16.60%, up slightly from Tuesday’s rate of 16.57% and 16.49% last week.

With 60 deaths, the county now has 638 active confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases – the lowest number of active cases since July 3. Of them, 62 are hospitalized, an increase of six.

On Wednesday, Comal County hospitals reported caring for 31 COVID-19 patients; 17 of those  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 Statistics

• 13,779 tests conducted
• 1,763 confirmed cases
• 524 probable cases

Location Breakdown

Of the 2,287 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Comal County, the location breakdown is:

• 1,740 from the New Braunfels area, including eastern and central Comal County
• 325 from western Comal County, including Bulverde and Spring Branch
• 114 from south of Canyon Lake
• 55 from north of Canyon Lake, including Fischer
• 45 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.