COVID-19 Antibody Testing Proves Popular in Comal County, Canyon Lake Adds Three New Cases

Three new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed on the north side of Canyon Lake.

In a statement on Thursday, Comal County said two of the people live in the same household. The fourth case is in New Braunfels.

One patient is under 18, one is in their 30s, and two are in their 40s. All are self-isolating at home.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the county to 65.

With six deaths and 44 recoveries, the county has 15 active cases, one of which is hospitalized.

Antibody Testing Proves Popular

At Commissioners Court on Thursday, Office of Public Health Director Cheryl Fraser said new antibody testing at her clinic is proving popular with residents — in fact, she is booked through the first week of June due to high demand.

Seventy residents were tested on Monday and over 100 had their blood drawn on Wednesday. It takes 48 hours to receive test results, she said.

On May 1, the county announced it was partnering with Clinical Pathology Laboratories (CPL), a Sonic Healthcare Company, to conduct COVID-19 antibody testing by appointment. The tests cost around $100, according to information on the company’s website.

Fraser said she hopes antibody testing will give the county a “snapshot” of what actually occurred during the early days of COVID-19 when people were asked to stay home and testing was not widely available.

Many people want to know if their symptoms were actually related to the virus, she said, adding had herself tested after suffering from a cold earlier this year. The results were negative.

However, although the state is encouraging antibody testing, the law does not require doctors or their patients to report their results, she said. The county may not know how many people test positive or negative for COVID-19 antibodies.

Meanwhile, a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site set up by local physicians, the county and the City of New Braunfels just increased the number of days it operates from two to three.

Fraser called this an exciting development because it means more tests are being conducted.

Thursday’s Statistics

917 tests conducted
65 positive tests
761 negative tests
91 results still pending

Location Breakdown

25 from New Braunfels or the immediate area
11 from the Bulverde area
9 from north of Canyon Lake
6 from eastern Comal County
3 from south of Canyon Lake
3 from Garden Ridge
3 from the Spring Branch area
2 from Fair Oaks Ranch
2 from southwest Comal County
1 from central Comal County

Information about COVID-19, as well as a list of county office reopenings and numbers to call for testing, is available at www.comalcountytx.com/covid19.

Residents with questions or concerns about the novel coronavirus can call the county’s dedicated COVID-19 hotline, 830-221-1120, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.