The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 3,732 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 184,342.
Tulsa County had 416 of Wednesday's new cases. Its total now stands at 31,333, second to Oklahoma County's 37,441.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, jumped from 3,172 to 3,274, its third straight new record and seventh in the past eight days. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
Tulsa County's seven-day average of new cases rose from 455 to 458. Its the second straight new high and fourth in the past six days.
The state reported 16 deaths but did not identify whether any happened in the past 24 hours. Two Tulsa County women 65 or older were reported dead. Statewide, 14 other adults 65 or older were also reported dead.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,680 Oklahomans, 260 of them in Tulsa County. The state has reported an average of 15.7 deaths over the past seven days, down from a record 17.1 on Tuesday.
There were 1,604 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Tuesday evening, 38 more than on Monday and a third straight new record. Of those hospitalized Tuesday, 1,542 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 432 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 14 fewer than on Monday.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 372 residents hospitalized as of Tuesday evening, 37 more than on Monday and a new high. The previous record of 351 was set last week.
Over the course of the pandemic, 11,708 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the state reported 4% of its adult ICU beds and 13% of its medical surgery beds were available. Five of Oklahoma's eight hospital regions, including Oklahoma County, 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. Tulsa County is at tier two, with just one day of more than 20% of patients testing positive. Only the east central region remains in tier one.
The state health department reported 3,659 additional patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 149,345. 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 33,317 active cases of COVID-19, 57 more than the day before. The record of 33,844 was set Monday.
Tulsa County reported 570 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 26,221. The county has 4,852 active cases, 156 fewer than the day before.
The state's reported overall positive test rate rose 0.1 percentage points Tuesday to 9.4%. Out of 20,100 tests reported on Tuesday, 12.4% 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 Tuesday, that rate was 8.9%, 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.
