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COVID Hospitalizations Rise to Another New Record as 7-Day Average Breaks 2,000

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Monday 2,187 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 138,455.

Tulsa County had 302 of those cases. Its total now stands at 24,663, second to Oklahoma County's 27,871.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, climbed for an eighth straight reporting day, jumping from 1,927 to 2,049. It's the fourth day in a row the state has set a new high in the seven-day average. The average has risen 1,028 over the past eight reporting days. Since Sept. 19, the seven-day average has been below 1,000 just two days.

Tulsa County's seven-day average rose from 231 to 249, the highest it's been since a record of 254 on July 30.

The state reported six deaths: a Kingfisher County man between 50 and 64 years old, and five adults 65 or older. Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,444 Oklahomans, 226 of them Tulsa County residents.

There were 1,102 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday evening, 57 more than on Friday and a new record. Of those hospitalized Monday, 1,038 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 334 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 22 more than on Friday.

According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 258 residents hospitalized as of Monday evening, three fewer than on Friday.

Over the course of the pandemic, 9,621 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

As of Monday, the state reported 7% of its adult ICU beds were available.

The state health department reported 1,852 additional patients as recovered on Monday, bringing the total to 116,882. 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 20,129 active cases of COVID-19, 339 more than the day before. It's the first time the state has had more than 20,000 active cases, and it set a new record.

Tulsa County reported 312 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 21,542. The county has 2,895 active cases, 10 fewer than the day before, which stands as the current record.

The state's reported overall positive test rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 8.6% on Monday. Out of 26,571 tests reported on Monday, 19.2% 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 8.0%, up 0.3 percentage points from Friday.

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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