The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 3,907 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 341,364.
Tulsa County had 623 of Wednesday's cases. Its total now stands at 55,721, second to Oklahoma County's 66,594.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, hit a new high for the fourth day in a row, rising from 4,170 to 4,256. 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 increased from 598 to 629. The record is 647, set on Saturday.
The state reported 44 deaths. When deaths occurred is not reported. There were 18 Tulsa County residents reported dead, the most in a single day to date: a woman 36 to 49 years old, a man 50 to 64 years old, and eight men and eight women 65 or older.
Statewide, two women 36 to 49 years old, five adults 50 to 64 years old, and 19 adults 65 or older were also reported dead. Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 2,848 Oklahomans, 475 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 30.7 deaths the past seven days.
Hospitalizations remain elevated. There were 1,856 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Tuesday evening, 46 fewer than on Monday. There were 477 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Tuesday, six more than on Monday.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 447 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Tuesday evening, 21 fewer than Monday's record number.
Over the course of the pandemic, 19,199 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the state reported 5% of its adult ICU beds and 11% of its medical surgery beds were available. Also as of Tuesday, 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 4,746 additional patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 299,375. 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 39,141 active cases of COVID-19, 883 fewer than the day before. The state broke 40,000 active cases for the first time on Saturday.
Tulsa County reported 791 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 49,121. The county has 6,125 active cases, 186 fewer than the day before. Tulsa County broke 6,000 active cases for the first time on Saturday.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.3% on Tuesday, unchanged from Monday. Out of 24,554 tests reported on Tuesday, 12.4% 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 11.7%, unchanged 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.
