The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Friday 3,538 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 348,044.
Tulsa County had 633 of Friday's cases. Its total now stands at 56,914, second to Oklahoma County's 67,719.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 4,165 to 3,923. The record of 4,256 was set Wednesday. The average had dipped to around 2,600 as reporting lagged around the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
Tulsa County's seven-day average dropped slightly, going from 623 to 618. The record is 647, set on Saturday.
The state reported 43 deaths. When deaths occurred is not reported. Seven Tulsa County residents were reported dead: a woman 18 to 35 years old, and two women and four men 65 or older.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 2,925 Oklahomans, 486 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 31.7 deaths the past seven days.
Hospitalizations remain elevated. There were 1,847 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Thursday evening, three more than on Wednesday. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 470 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Thursday, four fewer than on Wednesday.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 428 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Thursday evening, seven fewer than on Wednesday.
Over the course of the pandemic, 19,616 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Thursday, the state reported 5% of its adult ICU beds and 12% of its medical surgery beds were available. Also as of Thursday, seven of Oklahoma's eight hospital regions are at tier three of a four-tier hospital surge plan, meaning 20% to 40% of patients have tested positive for COVID-19 for at least three consecutive days. The northwest region is currently at tier two. The OKC region has been around 35% the past few days after nearing 40% last week. The Tulsa region has hovered around 26% the past several days.
The state health department reported 3,398 additional patients as recovered on Friday, bringing the total to 306,874. 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 38,245 active cases of COVID-19, 97 more than the day before. The record is 43,163, set on Monday.
Tulsa County reported 507 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 50,310. The county has 6,118 active cases, 119 more than the day before. The record is 6,731, set on Monday.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.3% on Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday. Out of 29,952 tests reported on Thursday, 13.9% were positive. Each positive test does not necessarily represent a unique individual.
The state used to report 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 11.7%, down 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.
All 77 counties at orange level on the state's COVID alert map, indicating the highest risk of transmission. Since last week, Cimarron County climbed from yellow to orange.
Tulsa County's rate of new cases per 100,000 population rose 14.8% this week, going from 83.3 to 95.6. The highest rate of new cases was in Carter County, which had a new case rate of 285.7, up 94.4% from last week. The southern Oklahoma county of roughly 48,000 added hundreds of new cases this week, with its total nearing 4,300.
The orange level starts at 14.3 new cases per 100,000. There are 50 counties with new case rates over 100 and three counties with case rates over 200.
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.
