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Active COVID-19 Case Counts Keep Rising: 6,700 In Tulsa County, 43,000 Statewide

Department of Defense

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Monday 3,885 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 335,247.

Tulsa County had 648 of Monday's cases. Its total now stands at 54,764, second to Oklahoma County's 65,661.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, hit a new high for the second day in a row, rising from 3,899 to 4,068. 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 581 to 592. The record is 647, set on Saturday.

The state reported 14 deaths. Two Tulsa County women 65 or older were reported dead. Statewide, three adults 50 to 64 years old, and nine adults 65 or older were also reported dead.

Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 2,775 Oklahomans, 457 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 31.9 deaths the past seven days, the most to date.

There were 1,926 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Friday evening, 35 fewer than on Thursday. There were 467 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Friday, 10 fewer than on Thursday.

Over the course of the pandemic, 18,885 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 466 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Friday evening, eight more than on Thursday and a new high for a fifth straight day.

As of Sunday, the state reported 4% of its adult ICU beds and 11% of its medical surgery beds were available. As of Friday, 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 seen several days in the past week with 37% to 39% of patients with COVID. The Tulsa region has hovered around 26% the past several days.

The state health department reported 3,664 additional patients as recovered on Monday, bringing the total to 289,309. 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 43,163 active cases of COVID-19, 207 more than the day before and a new record for the fourth straight day. The state broke 40,000 active cases for the first time on Saturday.

Tulsa County reported 386 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 47,186. The county has 6,731 active cases, 256 more than the day before and a new record for the third day in a row. Tulsa County broke 6,000 active cases for the first time on Saturday.

The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.2% on Friday, unchanged from Thursday. Out of 28,050 tests reported on Friday, 14.6% 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 Friday, that rate was 11.4%, up 0.1 percentage points from Thursday.

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.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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