The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 1,246 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 127,772.
Tulsa County had 198 of Wednesday's new cases. Its total now stands at 23,531, second to Oklahoma County's 25,473.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, climbed for a fourth straight day, moving from 1,169 to 1,241. The average has risen 220 over the past four days. It hit a record high of 1,348 Oct. 25. Since Sept. 19, the seven-day average has been below 1,000 just two days.
Tulsa County's seven-day average rose for the sixth day in a row, jumping from 189 to 204, the highest it's been since Aug. 7. Tulsa County's average of new cases peaked at 254 in late July.
The state health department reported 17 deaths, with one in the past 24 hours. A Tulsa County man 50 to 64 years old was reported dead. In the rest of the state, an Oklahoma County man between 18 and 35, two men 50 to 64, and 13 adults age 65 or older were reported dead. Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,392 Oklahomans, 219 of them Tulsa County residents.
There were 1,026 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Tuesday evening, 52 more than on Monday and a new high for the second straight day. Of those hospitalized Tuesday, 925 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 349 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 13 more than Monday and a new record for the third day in a row.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 241 residents hospitalized as of Tuesday evening, six more than on Monday.
Over the course of the pandemic, 9,219 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the state reported 8% of its adult ICU beds were available.
The state health department reported 1,219 additional patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 110,453. 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 15,927 active cases of COVID-19, 10 more than the day before. The record is 15,948, set on Monday.
Tulsa County reported 186 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 20,679. The county has 2,453 active cases, 11 more than the day before and a new record for the third straight day.
The state's reported overall positive test rate rose 0.1 percentage points on Tuesday to 8.4%. Out of 8,885 tests reported on Tuesday, 11.1% 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 Tuesday, that rate was 7.6%, 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.
