The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Monday 2,699 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 306,771.
Tulsa County had 569 of Monday's cases. Its total now stands at 50,619, second to Oklahoma County's 60,512.
The state added 93,191 cases of COVID-19 to its total in December, the most of any month so far and a 24% increase from the previous high in November.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections dropped from a new record of 3,562 to 3,455. It 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 rose from 597 to a new record of 607. The old high of 601 was set Dec. 22.
The state reported five deaths: an Oklahoma County man 50 to 64 years old and four adults 65 or older statewide.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 2,552 Oklahomans, 415 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 24.1 deaths the past seven days.
In December, the state reported 746 deaths, the most in a single month so far. December's record number of reported deaths was up 84% from the previous record, set in November.
There were 1,770 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Sunday evening, 140 fewer than on Thursday. There were 498 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Thursday, three fewer than Wednesday's record number. All hospitalization numbers are based on when they were last reported.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 419 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Thursday evening, 15 fewer than on Wednesday.
Over the course of the pandemic, 17,493 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Sunday, the state reported 8% of its adult ICU beds and 14% of its medical surgery beds were available. As of Thursday, all 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 OKC and northeast regions have seen several days in the past week with 37% to 39% of patients with COVID.
The state health department reported 2,280 additional patients as recovered on Monday, bringing the total to 267,573. 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 36,646 active cases of COVID-19, 414 more than the day before and a new record. The previous high of 36,544 was set Dec. 22.
Tulsa County reported 420 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 44,774. The county has 5,430 active cases, 149 more than the day before. The record is 5,785, set Dec. 21.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 10.9% as of Thursday. Out of 22,002 tests reported on Thursday, 20.2% 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 10.8%.
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.
