The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 798 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 421,010.
Tulsa County had 105 of Wednesday's cases. Its total now stands at 70,289, second to Oklahoma County's 80,140.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 776 to 736, its lowest point since the end of August. The record of 4,256 was set Jan. 13.
Tulsa County's seven-day average fell from 186 to 168. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. Oct. 29 was the last time the seven-day average was below 100.
The state reported 37 deaths, with 29 happening since Jan. 1. More detailed information was not provided. Five deaths were in Tulsa County: one man 50 to 64 years old, and one man and three women 65 or older.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 4,264 Oklahomans, 681 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 25 deaths the past seven days.
There were 647 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Tuesday evening, 19 fewer than on Monday. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 173 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Tuesday, 10 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.
Over the course of the pandemic, 23,768 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the state reported 10% of adult ICU beds and 16% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. Also as of Tuesday, the OKC region was at tier two of a four-tier hospital surge plan, meaning 15% to 20% of patients tested positive for COVID-19 for at least three consecutive days. All other regions are at tier one.
The state health department reported 1,214 additional patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 403,159. 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 13,587 active cases of COVID-19, 453 fewer than the day before. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11.
Tulsa County reported 228 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 67,900. The county has 1,708 active cases, 128 fewer than the day before. The record is 6,731, set Jan. 11.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.2%, on Tuesday, unchanged for more than a week. Out of 16,079 tests reported on Tuesday, 12.4% were positive. Tuesday's reported tests were closer to typical levels after testing dropped off during winter storms. 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 for almost three weeks.
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.
