© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

COVID Update: Tulsa County Surpasses 2,000 Deaths From The Illness

Oklahoma State Department of Health

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported 450,543 total cases of COVID-19 in the state on Wednesday.

The 1,277 new cases reported over the past week were down 21% from the number reported the week before.

Tulsa County data is now being updated on a weekly basis, with numbers reflecting the previous Sunday through Saturday. At last count, Tulsa County had 74,684 cases, up 302 over the past week. Tulsa County's total is second to Oklahoma County's 86,774

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, was 182 as of Wednesday, down from 232 the week before. The record of 4,256 was set Jan. 13. It has remained under 500 since March 17 if roughly 1,300 backlogged cases added April 7 are excluded.

Tulsa County's seven-day average fell from 48 to 43. The record is 647, set Jan. 9. It has remained below 100 since March 4.

The state health department reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's provisional death count in its updates. That count is based on death certificates entered into a vital statistics system and is updated on weekdays. As of Wednesday, the CDC counted 8,343 Oklahomans dead from COVID-19, an increase of 42 over the past week. According to the CDC, 17 Tulsa County residents died from COVID-19 in the past week, bringing the total to 2,016.

The state is still carrying out its own investigations of COVID-19 deaths and updates that number weekly. The state-confirmed total is 6,878, with 1,054 in Tulsa County.

The state health department reports almost 2.8 million total doses of vaccines have been administered. According to a weekly epidemiology report, 54,896 doses were given from May 4 through May 10, a 22% decrease from the week before. More than 1.2 million Oklahomans have now completed a vaccination series.

The state has changed its hospitalization reporting to a three-day average. There reported average on Wednesday was 161 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized, down from 190 when the change was made a week ago. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 53 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units in the latest three-day average, down from 72 when the reporting change was made. KWGS is basing hospitalization and ICU bed numbers on the total across all types of facilities. The state reports just acute care hospitals but still gives numbers for focus, rehabilitation and tribal facilities.

Over the course of the pandemic, 26,150 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

According to the state health department, Tulsa County had a three-day average of 55 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Wednesday, down six from when the change was made.

The state no longer reports its testing numbers since Gov. Kevin Stitt withdrew his COVID-19 emergency declaration on May 4.

Okmulgee County is the only county at the orange level on the state's COVID alert map, indicating the highest risk of transmission. That number is unchanged from last week. There are 51 counties, including Tulsa County, at the yellow level, down 13 from last week. There are now 25 counties at the green risk level, 13 more than last week.

Tulsa County's rate of new cases per 100,000 population fell 9.6% since it was last reported, going from 7.3 to 6.6. The highest rate of new cases was in Okmulgee County, which had a new case rate of 17.5, up 146.5% from the week before. The state health department changed its reporting of alert map data from Fridays to Wednesdays.

The orange level starts at 14.3 new cases per 100,000. 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 acute care hospital beds in that county's state hospital region.

Just 13 counties have not yet hit 10% of their population testing positive for the coronavirus. Alfalfa County leads the state with 20.2% of residents testing positive to date. Its total number of cases was adjusted over the past week, causing the percent of residents testing positive to fall 0.1 percentage points. Alfalfa County is the only county so far to break the 20% level.

In Tulsa County, 11.5% of residents have tested positive to date, 0.6 percentage points higher than in Oklahoma County.

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.
Related Content