Updated March 31, 12:25 p.m.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported 436,971 total cases in the state on Friday, an increase of 2,480 over the past week.
Tulsa County data is now being updated on a weekly basis, though that switch was made mid-week. As of Wednesday, it had 72,378 cases, up 155 over five days.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, declined overall, falling from 446 to 354 over the past week. The record of 4,256 was set Jan. 13. It has remained under 500 since March 17.
Tulsa County's seven-day average fell from 55 to 40 from last Friday to Wednesday. 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 Friday, the CDC counted 7,782 Oklahomans dead from COVID-19, an increase of 109 this week. The CDC places 1,889 of those deaths in Tulsa County, up 31 from last week. County-level data is updated on Wednesdays.
The state is still carrying out its own investigations of COVID-19 deaths and updates that number weekly. The state-confirmed total is 4,850, with 774 in Tulsa County.
There were 225 Oklahomans with positive COVID tests hospitalized on Thursday evening, the latest data available, a decrease of 29 from the same time last week. The highest number so far was 1,994 hospitalized on Jan. 5. There were 57 COVID-positive Oklahomans in intensive care units on Thursday, nine fewer than at the same time last week. 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.
Over the course of the pandemic, 25,056 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 43 COVID-positive residents hospitalized as of Thursday evening, down six from the same time last week. The state's reporting change does not affect regional numbers.
As of Thursday, the state reported 19% of adult ICU beds and 17% of medical surgery beds available across all facility types. Also as of Thursday, all of the state's hospital regions were at tier one of a four-tier hospital surge plan, meaning less than 15% of patients have tested positive for COVID for at least three consecutive days. Only the OKC region is above 5%.
The state reports 10,906 active cases of COVID-19, down 495 over the past week. The record is 43,163, set Jan. 11. Despite the change in death reporting, active cases are being reported as total cases less patients considered recovered and deaths confirmed by the state health department. It is not clear, however, where the total cases figure used this week came from, as it does not match other state sources.
The state's reported overall positive test rate was 10.6% on Thursday, down 0.2 percentage points from the same time last week. Over the past week, 2.8% of reported tests were positive, down 2.7 percentage points from the week before. Each positive test does not necessarily represent a unique individual.
The World Health Organization's benchmark indicating adequate testing is a 5% positive test rate.
There are 12 counties at the orange level on the state's COVID alert map, indicating the highest risk of transmission. That number is down three from last week. There are 59 counties, including Tulsa County, at the yellow level, down two from last week. Cimarron, Ellis, Harper, Kiowa and Okfuskee counties are at the green risk level, five more than last week.
Tulsa County's rate of new cases per 100,000 population fell 11.8% since it was last reported, going from 9.3 to 8.2. The highest rate of new cases was in Harmon County, which had a new case rate of 43.1, up 100.5%. 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 17 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. It's the only county so far to break the 20% level.
In Tulsa County, 11.1% of residents have tested positive to date.
Correction: This story originally stated the state's seven-day average of new cases has remained below 1,000 since March 17. It has remained below 500 since March 17 and below 1,000 since Feb. 19.
