The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Thursday 1,628 new cases of COVID-19, the most in a single day to date.
The state's total number of cases rose to 112,483. Tulsa County had 228 new cases. Its total now stands at 21,033, second to Oklahoma County's 22,669.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, jumped from 1,177 to a new high of 1,235. It's the first time the average has been above 1,200. The previous record average of 1,182 was set on Oct. 15. Since Sept. 19, the seven-day average has been below 1,000 just two days.
Tulsa County's seven-day average remained at 164. Tulsa County's average of new cases briefly surpassed 200 last week, the first time it had done so since Aug. 10.
The state health department reported 11 deaths, with three in the past 24 hours. A Tulsa County man between 50 and 64 years old was reported dead. Statewide, another man between 50 and 64 years old, and nine adults 65 or older were reported dead. Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,221 Oklahomans, 195 of them Tulsa County residents.
There were 910 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Wednesday evening, 40 more than on Monday. Wednesday's hospitalizations set a new record for the second straight day, and the state has now surpassed thresholds of 700, 800 and 900 hospitalizations in the month of October. Of those hospitalized Wednesday, 839 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 297 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 20 fewer than on Tuesday.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 253 residents hospitalized as of Wednesday evening, four more than on Tuesday.
Over the course of the pandemic, 8,170 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, the state reported 9% of its adult ICU beds were available.
The state health department reported 1,266 additional patients as recovered on Thursday, bringing the total to 96,245. 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 15,017 active cases of COVID-19, 351 more than the day before and a new high for the fourth day in a row. It's the first time more than 15,000 Oklahomans are considered to have active cases.
Tulsa County reported 215 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 18,519. The county has 2,319 active cases, 12 more than the day before. Tulsa County's active case record is 2,371, set on Saturday.
The state's reported overall positive test rate remained at 8.2% on Wednesday. Out of 12,227 tests reported on Wednesday, 5.9% were positive. Each positive test does not necessarily represent a unique individual.
The state also reports 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 7.4%, unchanged from Tuesday.
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.
