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Daily Average Climbs Past 900 Again as Oklahoma Adds 970 COVID Cases, 12 Deaths

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The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 970 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the state's total to 72,284.

Tulsa County had 111 of those cases. Its total now stands at 15,469, second to Oklahoma County's 15,694.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, rose from 894 to 908, the first time it's been above 900 since Aug. 2. The average has now increased four days in a row and is up 126 in that time. The state's average peaked at 1,093 on Aug. 1 and had fallen to 645 by late August.

Tulsa County's seven-day average dropped from 126 to 116, its lowest point since July 6. It peaked at 254 on July 30, then fell to 117 on Sept. 1 before climbing back to almost 160 last week.

The state health department reported 12 deaths, with one identified in the past 24 hours. One death was a woman between 50 and 64 years old. The other 11 were adults 65 or older. Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 924 Oklahomans.

Two Tulsa County residents were among the reported deaths. The county has 149 deaths, second to Oklahoma County's 178.

There were 528 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Tuesday, 33 fewer than on Monday. Of those hospitalized Tuesday, 464 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 213 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 11 fewer than on Monday.

The Tulsa Health Department reported 238 residents hospitalized as of Sunday and Monday, a new high. Local hospitalization numbers change frequently based on new data. Tulsa County hospitalizations have been trending up overall since the first week of June.

Over the course of the pandemic, 5,610 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, the state reported 17% of its adult ICU beds were available.

The state health department reported an additional 1,033 patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 61,026. 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 10,334 active cases of COVID-19, 75 fewer than the day before.

Tulsa County reported an additional 182 patients as recovered on Wednesday, bringing the total to 13,784. The county has 1,536 active cases, 73 fewer than the day before.

The state's reported overall positive test rate remained at 8%. Out of 11,188 tests reported on Tuesday, 5.9% were positive. Each positive test does not necessarily represent a unique individual.

The state has also started reporting 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 Tuesday, that rate was 6.9%.

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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