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COVID Update: Statewide 7-Day Average Falls Below 800, 22 More Reported Dead

Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Monday 499 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 419,853.

Tulsa County had 108 of Monday's cases. Its total now stands at 70,137, second to Oklahoma County's 79,884.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 830 to 797, its lowest point since early September. The record of 4,256 was set Jan. 13.

Tulsa County's seven-day average fell from 196 to 190. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. Oct. 29 was the last time the seven-day average was below 100.

The state reported 22 deaths. When the deaths occurred was not immediately reported. Two Tulsa County men 65 or older were among the deaths reported Monday.

Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 4,203 Oklahomans, 674 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 23.1 deaths the past seven days.

There were 693 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Friday evening, 35 fewer than on Thursday. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 203 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Friday, 11 fewer than on Thursday. KWGS is basing hospitalization and ICU bed numbers on the total across all types of facilities. The state changed to reporting just acute care hospitals but still gives numbers for focus, rehabilitation and tribal facilities.

According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 147 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Friday evening, eight fewer than on Thursday. The state's reporting change does not affect regional numbers.

Over the course of the pandemic, 23,684 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

As of Sunday, the state reported 10% of adult ICU beds and 15% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. As of Friday, the OKC region was at tier two of a four-tier hospital surge plan, meaning 15% to 20% of patients tested positive for COVID-19 for at least three consecutive days. All other regions are at tier one.

The state health department reported 780 additional patients as recovered on Monday, bringing the total to 400,597. 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 15,053 active cases of COVID-19, 303 fewer than the day before. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11.

Tulsa County reported 138 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 67,422. The county has 2,041 active cases, 32 fewer than the day before. The record is 6,731, set Jan. 11.

The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.2%, on Friday, unchanged the whole week. Out of 4,969 tests reported on Friday, 5.8% were positive. Testing was suppressed last week, with some of the lowest daily totals since the summer. 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 Friday, that rate was 12.2%, unchanged for two weeks.

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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