Elderly Comal County couple dies days apart from coronavirus; county reports 34 total cases

CONVERSE, Tex. (KTSA News) — An elderly Comal County couple infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus died days apart, the county announced Thursday.

A woman in her 80s died at home over the weekend and had a positive postmortem test for COVID-19.  Her husband died overnight Tuesday in a San Antonio hospital where he was being treated for the disease.

This marks four deaths from the virus in the county.

“We continue to mourn the loss of these members of our community, and continue to pray for their loved ones,” said County Judge Sherman Krause. “Social distancing remains our best and most effective tool to prevent these losses, and we continue to remind everyone to do everything they can to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19.”

There are now 34 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Comal County.  The county said the other four cases include one near Spring Branch, one in New Braunfels, one in Fair Oaks Ranch, and one where the county is still working to determine if that patient is in fact a county resident (they have a post office box in the county).

Current locations of cases:

• 12 in New Braunfels or immediate area
• 6 in Bulverde area
• 5 in eastern Comal County
• 3 north of Canyon Lake
• 2 south of Canyon Lake
• 2 in Fair Oaks Ranch
• 1 in Spring Branch area
• 1 in southwestern Comal County
• 1 in central Comal County
• 1 under investigation

Two of the new cases are under the age of 18 and one case is in their 40s.  All are currently self-isolating at their homes.

The county also said there were nine new recoveries, bringing that total to 16 — meaning there are more recoveries than active cases (14) in Comal County.

“As a result of bringing more members of our Public Health staff into the process of monitoring and making contact with those who have tested positive in the county, we have been able to confirm that these patients have recovered and no longer need to be isolated at home,” Comal County’s director of public health, Cheryl Fraser, said. “Meanwhile, we continue to monitor other patients to ensure they are isolating themselves and protecting our community.”