The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Friday 4,827 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 208,875.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye issued a statement on Friday, saying the sudden jump in cases was due to an issue with the state's public health reporting system that resulted in a backlog of cases. Frye said Wednesday, Thursday and Friday reports should have all been roughly 3,000 new cases.
"That said, I want to be clear about the urgency of the situation. These totals are far too high. This is a pandemic and we must not grow weary of protecting ourselves, our family and our communities," Frye said.
Of all 4,827 cases reported Friday, 98% came from a test specimen collected since Nov. 19, and 86% came from one collected this week.
Tulsa County gained 724 cases in Friday's report. Its total now stands at 35,243, second to Oklahoma County's 42,872.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, jumped from 2,354 to 2,557. The record is 3,387, set the day after Thanksgiving. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
Tulsa County's seven-day average of new cases increased for a third straight day, jumping from 455 to a new high of 498. The previous record of 492 was set on Saturday.
The state reported 24 deaths. Information on when they actually happened was not included in Friday's report. Two Tulsa County men 65 or older were reported dead. Statewide, two men 36 to 49 years old, four adults 50 to 64 years old and 16 adults 65 or older were also reported dead.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,860 Oklahomans, 284 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 22.3 deaths over the past seven days, the highest to date.
There were 1,687 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday evening, 47 fewer than on Wednesday. Of those hospitalized Thursday, 1,608 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 482 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, eight more than on Wednesday and a new high.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 400 residents hospitalized as of Thursday evening, 20 fewer than the day before. The record is 431, set on Monday.
Over the course of the pandemic, 12,949 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Thursday, the state reported 5% of its adult ICU beds and 15% of its medical surgery beds were available. Also as of Thursday, six of Oklahoma's eight hospital regions, including Tulsa and Oklahoma counties, 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. Oklahoma County has had around 35% of patients positive for COVID-19 the past three days. Only the east central region remains in tier one.
The state health department reported 3,395 additional patients as recovered on Friday, bringing the total to 177,564. 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 29,451 active cases of COVID-19, 1,401 more than the day before. The record of 33,844 was set Nov. 23.
Tulsa County reported 523 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 30,416. The county has 4,543 active cases, 199 more than the day before. The record is 5,078, set Nov. 23.
The state's reported overall positive test rate remained at 9.7% on Thursday. Out of 28,317 tests reported on Thursday, 13.3% 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 9.3%, 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.
There are 76 of Oklahoma's 77 counties at the orange level on the state's COVID alert map for the third week in a row, indicating the highest risk of transmission. Cimarron County fell from the orange level to the green level as its new cases per 100,000 dropped from 127 to 0.
Tulsa County's rate of new cases per 100,000 population fell 15.1% this week, going from 71.3 to 60.5. The highest rate of new cases was 174.3 in Harper County, down 32.8% from last week.
The orange level starts at 14.3 new cases per 100,000. Several counties have new case rates over 100.
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.
Correction: Due to a miscalculation, this story originally misstated the state's cumulative positive test rate as 9.5%.
