The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Thursday 1,034 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 73,318.
Tulsa County had 185 of Thursday's cases. Its total now stands at 15,654, second to Oklahoma County's 15,859.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, rose from 908 to 945. The average has now increased five days in a row and is up 163 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 rose from 116 to 127. 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 six deaths, with two identified in the past 24 hours. One death was a Tulsa County man between 50 and 64 years old. The other five were adults 65 or older, including a Tulsa County woman. Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 930 Oklahomans, 151 of them in Tulsa County.
There were 516 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Wednesday, 12 fewer than on Tuesday. Of those hospitalized Wednesday, 450 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 221 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, eight more than on Tuesday.
The Tulsa Health Department reported 242 residents hospitalized as of Monday and Tuesday, down from a new high of 249 on Sunday. 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, 5,698 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, the state reported 18% of its adult ICU beds were available.
The state health department reported an additional 1,088 patients as recovered on Thursday, bringing the total to 62,114. 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 10,274 active cases of COVID-19, 60 fewer than the day before.
Tulsa County reported an additional 197 patients as recovered on Thursday, bringing the total to 13,981. The county has 1,522 active cases, 14 fewer than the day before.
The state's reported overall positive test rate remained at 8%. Out of 12,057 tests reported on Wednesday, 8% 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 Wednesday, that rate was 7%.
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.
