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COVID Update: Tulsa County Hospitalization Spike Continues, State 7-Day Average Hits New High Again

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The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Tuesday 2,210 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 337,457.

Tulsa County had 334 of Tuesday's cases. Its total now stands at 55,098, second to Oklahoma County's 66,096. A slightly greater proportion of Tulsa County residents, however, have been infected.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, hit a new high for the third day in a row, rising from 4,068 to 4,170. 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 increased from 592 to 598. The record is 647, set on Saturday.

The state reported 29 deaths: three men 36 to 49 years old, five adults 50 to 64 years old, and 21 adults 65 or older were reported dead. None was in Tulsa County.

Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 2,804 Oklahomans, 457 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 33.3 deaths the past seven days, the highest number to date.

There were 1,902 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Monday evening, 24 fewer than on Friday. There were 471 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Monday, four more than on Friday.

According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 468 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Monday evening, two more than on Friday and a new high for a sixth straight reporting day.

Over the course of the pandemic, 18,952 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

As of Monday, the state reported 4% of its adult ICU beds and 13% of its medical surgery beds were available. Also as of Monday, 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 been around 35% the past few days after nearing 40% last week. The Tulsa region has hovered around 26% the past several days.

The state health department reported 5,320 additional patients as recovered on Tuesday, bringing the total to 294,629. 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 40,024 active cases of COVID-19, 3,139 fewer than the day before, which was a new record for the fourth straight day. The state broke 40,000 active cases for the first time on Saturday.

Tulsa County reported 754 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 48,330. The county has 6,311 active cases, 420 fewer than the day before, which was a new record for the third day in a row. Tulsa County broke 6,000 active cases for the first time on Saturday.

The state's reported overall positive test rate was 11.3% on Monday, up 0.1 percentage points from Friday. Out of 29,426 tests reported on Monday, 19.5% 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 11.7%, up 0.3 percentage points 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.

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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