The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Tuesday 1,737 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 199,482.
Tulsa County had 294 of Tuesday's cases. Its total now stands at 33,863, second to Oklahoma County's 40,803.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 2,839 to 2,696. It's the third straight day the average has declined and the first time it's been below 2,700 in two weeks. The record is 3,318, set on Thanksgiving Day. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
Tulsa County's seven-day average of new cases also fell for a third straight day, dropping from 438 to 421. It hit a high of 492 on Saturday.
The state reported 15 deaths but did not identify whether any happened in the past 24 hours. A Tulsa County man 65 or older was reported dead. Statewide, five adults 50 to 64 years old and nine adults 65 or older were also reported dead.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,758 Oklahomans, 270 of them in Tulsa County. The state has reported an average of 13.4 deaths over the past seven days.
There were 1,718 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday evening, 65 more than on Wednesday, the last time those numbers were officially reported. Monday's total was a fifth straight new record. Of those hospitalized Monday, 1,637 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 461 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 29 more than on Wednesday and a new record.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 431 residents hospitalized as of Monday evening, 30 more than on Wednesday and a new high for the third straight day.
Over the course of the pandemic, 12,293 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Monday, the state reported 6% of its adult ICU beds and 14% of its medical surgery beds were available. Also as of Monday, 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. Only the east central region remains in tier one.
The state health department reported 3,679 additional patients as recovered on Tuesday, bringing the total to 167,406. 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 30,318 active cases of COVID-19, 1,957 fewer than the day before. The record of 33,844 was set Nov. 23.
Tulsa County reported 531 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 28,794. The county has 4,799 active cases, 238 fewer than the day before. The record is 5,078, set Nov. 23.
The state's reported overall positive test rate rose 0.2 percentage points Monday to 9.6%. Out of 58,811 tests reported on Monday, 15.1% 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 Monday, that rate was 9.3%, up 0.3 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.
