The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 1,660 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 407,724.
Tulsa County had 243 of Wednesday's cases. Its total now stands at 67,702, second to Oklahoma County's 77,947.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 1,986 to 1,920, its lowest level since Nov. 7. 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 fell from 397 to 370, its lowest level since Nov. 14. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. Oct. 29 was the last time the seven-day average was below 100.
The state reported 30 deaths on Wednesday. When the deaths occurred was not immediately reported. Eight deaths were in Tulsa County: one man 36 to 49 years old, one man 50 to 64 years old, and three men and three women 65 or older.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 3,900 Oklahomans, 637 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 35.1 deaths the past seven days.
There were 930 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Tuesday evening, seven fewer than on Monday. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 289 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Tuesday, three more 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 218 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Tuesday evening, 12 fewer than on Monday. The state's reporting change does not affect regional numbers.
Over the course of the pandemic, 22,930 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the state reported 8% of adult ICU beds and 15% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. Also as of Tuesday, the OKC region was 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 southwest region is currently at tier two. The Tulsa, central, northwest, southeast, northeast and east central regions are at tier one. The OKC region has been around 23% the past several days.
The state health department reported 2,489 additional patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 380,167. 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 23,657 active cases of COVID-19, 859 fewer than the day before and the lowest total since Nov. 12. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11.
Tulsa County reported 425 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 63,363. The county has 3,702 active cases, 190 fewer than the day before and the lowest total since Nov. 14. The record is 6,731, set Jan. 11.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.4% on Tuesday, unchanged for three weeks. Out of 16,959 tests reported on Tuesday, 7.2% 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 12.2%, 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.
