The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 980 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 87,199.
During the month of September, Oklahoma added 28,466 cases to its total, the most in any month during the coronavirus pandemic so far. September's case total was 25% higher than the previous high of 22,730, set in July.
Tulsa County had 117 of Wednesday's cases. Its total now stands at 17,324, second to Oklahoma County's 18,344. Tulsa County added 4,091 cases in September, fewer than it did in August and down almost 23% from a July record of 5,281.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 1,021 to 1,005. It has now fallen five days in a row after a 13-day rise in which it hit five consecutive new highs, peaking at 1,136.
Tulsa County's seven-day average fell from 143 to 137.
The state health department reported 13 deaths on Wednesday, with two in the past 24 hours. Four deaths were in Tulsa County: a man between 18 and 35 years old, a woman between 36 and 49 years old, and two men 65 or older. The other deaths across the state were two men between 50 and 64 years old and seven adults 65 or older.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,031 Oklahomans, 166 of them Tulsa County residents. The state reported 231 deaths in September, down from a high of 259 in August.
There were 628 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Tuesday, 10 more than on Monday. Of those hospitalized Tuesday, 554 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 245 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 20 more than on Monday.
The Tulsa Health Department reported 245 residents hospitalized as of Monday and Tuesday, a new high. Local hospitalization numbers change frequently based on new data. Tulsa County hospitalizations have trended up overall since the first week of June.
Over the course of the pandemic, 6,449 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the state reported 17% of its adult ICU beds were available.
The state health department reported an additional 1,143 patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 73,100. 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 13,068 active cases of COVID-19, 176 fewer than the day before. The state hit a new high in active cases on Monday with 13,379.
Tulsa County reported 128 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 15,576. The county has 1,582 active cases, 15 fewer than the day before.
The state's reported overall positive test rate remained at 8.1% on Tuesday. Out of 11,965 tests reported on Tuesday, 8.5% were positive. Each positive test does not necessarily represent a unique individual.
The state also reports its cumulative positive test rate, a metric used by Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. It is calculated by dividing the number of cases by the number of negative tests plus the number of cases. As of Tuesday, that rate was 7.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from Monday.
Johns Hopkins uses the different rate to compare states that may track testing differently. It notes the ideal way to calculate the positivity rate is dividing the number of people who test positive by the number of people who are tested, which is how Oklahoma's overall rate is calculated.
The World Health Organization's benchmark indicating adequate testing is a 5% positive test rate.
