The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 17 new deaths from COVID-19 in the state.
Since March 18, 699 Oklahomans have died from the illness.
Four deaths happened in the past 24 hours. Two adults between 50 and 64 years old died. The other 15 were 65 or older.
Two deaths were in Tulsa County, which now has 122 total. Three were in Oklahoma County, which leads the state with 135.
The state health department reported 597 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 49,923. Tulsa County had 149 of Wednesday's new cases and now has 11,763 total, second to Oklahoma County's 11,921.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, dropped from 657 to 646, the first time it's dipped below 650 since July 14.
The seven-day average hit a peak of 1,093 on Aug. 1. When Oklahoma moved to phase three of Gov. Kevin Stitt's reopening plan on June 1, the average was 69 cases.
Tulsa County's seven-day average of new cases held steady at 124 for a second day in a row. Unrounded, it went from 123.9 to 123.6, meaning Tulsa County's rolling average has fallen for 10 days in a row.
As of Wednesday evening, 564 Oklahomans were hospitalized for COVID-19, two fewer than on Tuesday. Of those hospitalized Wednesday, 465 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 248 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, two fewer than on Tuesday.
Tulsa County reported 193 residents hospitalized as of Monday, a new high. Local hospitalization numbers change frequently based on new data. Tulsa County hospitalizations have been trending up overall since Aug. 1.
Over the course of the pandemic, 4,192 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
The state reported 21% of its adult ICU beds were available as of Wednesday.
The state health department reported an additional 677 patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 42,047. Patients are considered to have recovered if they did not die, are not currently hospitalized and it has been at least 14 days since their symptoms began. Symptoms have been reported to linger for several weeks for some individuals.
The state has 7,177 active cases of COVID-19, 97 fewer than the day before.
Tulsa County reported a total of 10,281 patients recovered as of Wednesday, an increase of 175 from the day before. The county has 1,360 active cases, 28 fewer than the day before.
The state's overall positive test rate on Wednesday held steady at 7.3%. Out of 8,272 tests reported on Wednesday, 10.2% were positive. Each positive test does not necessarily represent a unique individual.
The World Health Organization's benchmark indicating adequate testing is a 5% positive test rate.
