The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 2,119 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 394,283.
Tulsa County had 435 of Wednesday's cases. Its total now stands at 65,112, second to Oklahoma County's 75,891.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 2,249 to 2,168. The average has stayed below 3,000 for 16 days. The record of 4,256 was set Jan. 13. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
Tulsa County's seven-day average dropped from 409 to 402. It has stayed below 500 for 15 days. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. Oct. 29 was the last time the seven-day average was below 100.
The state reported 52 deaths. Some happened as long ago as Jan. 4, but 32 occurred since Jan. 27. Seven were in Tulsa County: a man 36 to 49 years old, a man 50 to 64 years old, and four men and one woman 65 or older. Statewide, a Sequoyah County man 18 to 35 years old, three adults 36 to 49 years old, eight adults 50 to 64 years old, and 33 adults 65 or older were also reported dead.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 3,654 Oklahomans. Tulsa County hit 600 deaths on Wednesday and leads the state. The state has reported an average of 38 deaths the past seven days.
There were 1,143 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Tuesday evening, 63 fewer than on Monday. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 320 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Tuesday, 22 fewer than on Monday. KWGS is basing hospitalization and ICU bed numbers on the total across all types of facilities. The state changed to reporting just acute care hospitals but still gives numbers for focus, rehabilitation and tribal facilities.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 267 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Tuesday evening, 20 fewer than on Monday. The state's reporting change does not affect regional numbers.
Over the course of the pandemic, 22,167 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the state reported 9% of adult ICU beds and 14% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. Also as of Tuesday, two 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 Tulsa, central, southwest and southeast regions are currently at tier two. The northwest and east central regions are at tier one. The OKC region has hovered at 27% the past several days.
The state health department reported 3,106 additional patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 363,808. 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 26,821 active cases of COVID-19, 1,039 fewer than the day before. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11.
Tulsa County reported 600 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 60,193. The county has 4,319 active cases, 172 fewer than the day before. The record is 6,731, set Jan. 11.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.4% on Tuesday, unchanged for two weeks. Out of 18,048 tests reported on Tuesday, 9.1% 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 Tuesday, that rate was 12.1%, 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.
