The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Tuesday 1,070 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 406,064.
Tulsa County had 208 of Tuesday's cases. Its total now stands at 67,459, second to Oklahoma County's 77,701.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 2,018 to 1,986, its lowest level and first time under 2,000 since Nov. 8. The record of 4,256 was set Jan. 13. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
Tulsa County's seven-day average fell from 410 to 397, its lowest level since Nov. 19. It has stayed below 500 for 21 days. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. Oct. 29 was the last time the seven-day average was below 100.
The state reported 53 deaths on Tuesday. When the deaths occurred was not immediately reported. Four deaths were in Tulsa County: two men and two women 65 or older.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 3,870 Oklahomans, 629 of them Tulsa County residents. Oklahoma County leads the state with 633 deaths. The state has reported an average of 38.3 deaths the past seven days.
There were 937 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Monday evening, 78 fewer than on Friday. It's the fewest hospitalizations since Nov. 4. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 286 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Monday, 17 fewer than on Friday. 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 230 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Monday evening, one fewer than on Friday. The state's reporting change does not affect regional numbers.
Over the course of the pandemic, 22,789 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Monday, the state reported 7% of adult ICU beds and 18% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. Also as of Monday, the OKC region was 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 northeast and southwest regions are currently at tier two. The Tulsa, central, northwest, southeast and east central regions are at tier one. The OKC region has been around 23% the past several days.
The state health department reported 2,728 additional patients as recovered on Tuesday, bringing the total to 377,678. 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 24,516 active cases of COVID-19, 1,711 fewer than the day before and the lowest total since Nov. 14. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11.
Tulsa County reported 500 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 62,938. The county has 3,892 active cases, 296 fewer than the day before and the lowest total since Nov. 14. The record is 6,731, set Jan. 11.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.4% on Monday, unchanged for three weeks. Out of 15,118 tests reported on Monday, 10% 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 Monday, that rate was 12.2%, unchanged 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.
