The Okahoma State Department of Health reported on Thursday 2,782 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 397,065.
Tulsa County had 443 of Thursday's cases. Its total now stands at 65,555, second to Oklahoma County's 76,213. In the past 11 months, 10% of Tulsa County residents are known to have been infected with the coronavirus. Oklahoma County has not hit that milestone yet.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, rose from 2,168 to 2,234. The average has stayed below 3,000 for 17 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 held steady at 402. It has stayed below 500 for 16 days. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. Oct. 29 was the last time the seven-day average was below 100.
The state reported 27 deaths. When the deaths occurred was not provided. Six deaths were in Tulsa County: one man 50 to 64 years old, and two women and three men 65 or older.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 3,681 Oklahomans. Tulsa County leads the state with 606 deaths. The state has reported an average of 36.9 deaths the past seven days.
There were 1,102 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Wednesday evening, 41 fewer than on Tuesday. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 331 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Wednesday, 11 more than on Tuesday. 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 264 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Wednesday evening, three fewer than on Tuesday. The state's reporting change does not affect regional numbers.
Over the course of the pandemic, 22,317 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, the state reported 10% of adult ICU beds and 15% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. Also as of Wednesday, 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 around 27% the past several days.
The state health department reported 2,641 additional patients as recovered on Thursday, bringing the total to 366,449. 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 26,935 active cases of COVID-19, 114 more than the day before. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11.
Tulsa County reported 495 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 60,688. The county has 4,261 active cases, 58 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 Wednesday, unchanged for nearly three weeks. Out of 16,906 tests reported on Wednesday, 8.1% 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 Wednesday, that rate was 12.1%, unchanged from Tuesday.
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.
