The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Monday 1,903 new cases of COVID-19, brining the state's total to 218,389.
Tulsa County had 327 of Monday's cases. Its total now stands at 36,702, second to Oklahoma County's 44,851.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, dropped slightly but remains elevated. It fell from 2,992 to 2,949. The record is 3,387, set the day after Thanksgiving. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
Tulsa County's seven-day average of new cases also dipped but remains at record levels. It fell from 453 to 448. The record of 498 was set on Friday.
The state reported 15 deaths, none of them in Tulsa County. Information on when they occurred was not released. An Okmulgee County man 36 to 49 years old, four adults 50 to 64 years old and nine adults 65 or older were reported dead. Information on the 15th death was not available.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,911 Oklahomans, 289 of them Tulsa County residents. The state has reported an average of 24 deaths over the past seven days, the highest to date.
There were 1,721 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Friday evening, 34 more than on Thursday. Of those hospitalized Friday, 1,636 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 472 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, 10 fewer than Thursday's record high.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 394 residents hospitalized as of Friday evening, six fewer than the day before. The record is 431, set last Monday.
Over the course of the pandemic, 13,371 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Sunday, the state reported 5% of its adult ICU beds and 17% of its medical surgery beds were available. ICU bed availability dipped to a record low of 3% Friday evening. As of Friday, six of Oklahoma's eight hospital regions, including Tulsa and Oklahoma counties, are at tier three of a four-tier hospital surge plan, meaning 20% to 40% of patients have tested positive for COVID-19 for at least three consecutive days. Oklahoma County has had around 35% of patients positive for COVID-19 the past four days. Only the east central region remains in tier one.
The state health department reported 1,794 additional patients as recovered on Monday, bringing the total to 184,736. 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 31,742 active cases of COVID-19, 94 more than the day before. The record is 33,844, set Nov. 23.
Tulsa County reported 232 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 31,419. The county has 4,994 active cases, 95 more than the day before. The record is 5,078, set Nov. 23.
The state's reported overall positive test rose 0.1 percentage points Friday to 9.8%. Out of 27,995 tests reported on Friday, 17.9% 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 Friday, that rate was 9.4%, up 0.1 percentage points from Thursday.
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.
Correction: Due to a miscalculation, this story originally misstated the state's cumulative positive test rate as 9.6%.
