The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Tuesday 1,091 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 71,314.
It was the most cases reported on a Tuesday to date. The previous high was 1,089 cases reported July 28. The state was not counting positive antigen tests in its case totals then.
Tulsa County had 156 of Tuesday's cases. Its total now stands at 15,358, second to Oklahoma County's 15,517.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, rose from 858 to 894, its highest point since Aug. 2. The average has now increased three days in a row and is up 113 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 133 to 126. It peaked at 254 on July 30, then fell to 117 on Sept. 1, its lowest point in nearly two months, before climbing back to almost 160 last week.
The state health department reported seven deaths. Three were in Tulsa County, which has now seen 147 residents die from COVID-19. Additional information on the deaths was not immediately available. The illness has officially killed 912 Oklahomans since March 18.
There were 561 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday, 62 more than on Friday. Of those hospitalized Monday, 458 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 224 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 38 more than on Friday.
The Tulsa Health Department reported 234 residents hospitalized as of Friday, matching a high set Wednesday. 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, 5,562 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Monday, the state reported 19% of its adult ICU beds were available.
The state health department reported an additional 986 patients as recovered on Tuesday, bringing the total to 59,993. 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 10,409 active cases of COVID-19, 98 more than the day before and a new high for a second straight day.
Tulsa County reported an additional 183 patients as recovered on Tuesday, bringing the total to 13,602. The county has 1,609 active cases, 30 fewer than the day before.
The state's reported overall positive test rate remained at 8%. Out of 28,599 tests reported on Monday, 9.5% 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 Monday, 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.
