OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma Highway Patrol captain has become the first state trooper in Oklahoma to die of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Capt. Jeffery Sewell, 58, of Atoka died Saturday at a Denison, Texas, hospital where he had been treated for the virus for about three weeks, OHP spokesperson Sarah Stewart said Tuesday.
Stewart said it was not clear how Sewell contracted the virus and that no other troopers have died, but 12 others have been infected.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported 1,025 new virus cases Tuesday, and 11 more deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the totals to 86,219 cases and 1,018 deaths, up from 85,194 cases and 1,007 deaths reported Monday. The actual number of cases in Oklahoma is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
