The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Friday 5,232 new cases of COVID-19, the highest single-day report to date.
Friday's report broke the record of 5,119 set a week ago. The state's total number of cases is 320,586.
Tulsa County had 666 of Friday's cases. Its total now stands at 52,587, second to Oklahoma County's 63,058.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, remains at record levels. It climbed from 3,488 to 3,504. The record is 3,562, set on Sunday. 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 set a record for the second straight day, jumping from 621 to 638.
The state reported 31 deaths. Seven were in Tulsa County: two women 36 to 49 years old, three adults 50 to 64 years old and two men 65 or older. Statewide, a Logan County woman 18 to 35 years old, seven adults 50 to 64 years old, and 16 adults 65 or older were also reported dead.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 2,703 Oklahomans, 444 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 25.1 deaths the past seven days.
There were 1,961 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Thursday evening, 26 fewer than on Wednesday. There were 477 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Thursday, 12 fewer than on Wednesday.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 458 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Thursday evening, two more than on Wednesday and a new high for a fourth straight day.
Over the course of the pandemic, 18,418 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Thursday, the state reported 5% of its adult ICU beds and 11% of its medical surgery beds were available. Also as of Thursday, 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 2,603 additional patients as recovered on Friday, bringing the total to 280,430. 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 37,453 active cases of COVID-19, 2,598 more than the day before and a new record. The old record of 36,646 was set on Monday.
Tulsa County reported 325 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 46,650. The county has 5,493 active cases, 334 more than the day before. The record is 5,785, set Dec. 21.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.2% on Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday. Out of 19,327 tests reported on Thursday, 15.9% 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 Thursday, that rate was 11.3%, up 0.1 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.
There are 76 counties at orange level on the state's COVID alert map, indicating the highest risk of transmission. Since last week, Cimarron County fell from orange to yellow, while Harmon County climbed from yellow to orange.
Tulsa County's rate of new cases per 100,000 population rose 37% this week, going from 60.8 to 83.3. The highest rate of new cases was in Harmon County, which had a new case rate of 172.3, up 1,495.4% from last week. The sparsely populated southwest Oklahoma county has just 239 total cases but added several new cases this week.
The orange level starts at 14.3 new cases per 100,000. Several counties have new case rates over 100.
Regardless of transmission rates, counties are not classified at red, the alert map's highest level, unless COVID patients account for 40% of the staffed hospital beds in that county's state hospital region.
