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Oklahoma's 7-Day Average of New COVID Cases Breaks 1,400, Active Cases Pass 17,000 Mark

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Friday 1,878 new cases of COVID-19, the second-highest in one day to date.

The state's total number of cases rose to 131,751.

Tulsa County had 327 of Friday's cases, its third-highest number to date. Its total now stands at 23,983, second to Oklahoma County's 26,302.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, climbed for a sixth straight day, rising from 1,392 to 1,475. It's the second day in a row the state has set a new high in the seven-day average. The average has risen 454 over the past six days. Since Sept. 19, the seven-day average has been below 1,000 just two days.

Tulsa County's seven-day average rose for the eighth day in a row, climbing from 223 to 239, the highest it's been since Aug. 1. Tulsa County's average of new cases peaked at 254 in late July.

The state reported 16 deaths, with two in the past 24 hours. Four Tulsa County residents were reported dead: a woman between 50 and 64 years old, and a woman and two men age 65 or older. In the rest of the state, one other woman between 50 and 64 years old and 11 other adults age 65 or older were reported dead. Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,429 Oklahomans, 225 of them Tulsa County residents.

There were 1,025 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday evening, 30 fewer than Wednesday's record high. Of those hospitalized Thursday, 948 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 326 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 11 fewer than Wednesday.

According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 252 residents hospitalized as of Thursday evening, nine more than on Wednesday.

Over the course of the pandemic, 9,438 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

As of Thursday, the state reported 7% of its adult ICU beds were available.

The state health department reported 1,532 additional patients as recovered on Friday, bringing the total to 113,227. 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 17,095 active cases of COVID-19, 330 more than the day before. It's the first time the state has had more than 17,000 active cases, and Friday's number set a record for the second day in a row and the third time this week.

Tulsa County reported 198 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 21,037. The county has 2,721 active cases, 125 more than the day before and a new record for the fifth straight day.

The state's reported overall positive test rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 8.5% on Thursday. Out of 16,255 tests reported on Thursday, 12.4% 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 Thursday, that rate was 7.7%, up 0.1 percentage points from Wednesday.

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.

There are 76 of Oklahoma's 77 counties at the orange level on the state's COVID alert map this week, indicating the highest risk of transmission. That's up from 71 counties last week. Only Dewey County is at the yellow level.

Tulsa County's rate of new cases per 100,000 population rose 46.8% this week, jumping from 23.3 to 34.2. The highest rate of new cases was 89.3 in Okfuskee County, down 65.5% from last week.

Regardless of transmission rates, counties are not classified at red, the alert map's highest level, unless COVID patients account for 40% of the staffed hospital beds in that county's state hospital region.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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