The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Thursday 1,707 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 204,048.
Tulsa County had 231 of Thursday's cases. Its total now stands at 34,519, second to Oklahoma County's 41,709.
The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell for a fifth straight day, dropping from 2,571 to 2,354. The record is 3,318, set on Thanksgiving Day. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye said during a Thursday update it's too soon to tell whether changes in the seven-day average are due to slowing infection rates or a drop in testing after Thanksgiving. One possibility is more Oklahomans got tested than usual ahead of the holiday.
Tulsa County's seven-day average of new cases increased for a second straight day, jumping from 422 to 455. It hit a high of 492 on Saturday.
The state reported 24 deaths. Information on when they actually happened was not released with Thursday's report. Three deaths were in Tulsa County, all adults 65 or older. Statewide, a man between 36 and 49 years old, five adults 50 to 64 years old, and 15 more adults 65 or older were also reported dead.
Since March 18, COVID-19 has officially killed 1,836 Oklahomans, 282 of them in Tulsa County. The state has reported an average of 18.9 deaths over the past seven days, the most to date.
There were 1,734 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 on Wednesday evening, 48 fewer than Tuesday's record total. Of those hospitalized Wednesday, 1,648 had positive coronavirus tests. Overall, 474 Oklahomans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in intensive care units, one fewer than Tuesday's record.
According to the state health department, Tulsa County had 420 residents hospitalized as of Wednesday evening, three fewer than the day before. The record is 431, set on Monday.
Over the course of the pandemic, 12,773 Oklahomans have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, the state reported 5% of its adult ICU beds and 14% of its medical surgery beds were available. Also as of Wednesday, 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. Only the east central region remains in tier one.
The state health department reported 3,264 additional patients as recovered on Thursday, bringing the total to 174,169. 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 28,043 active cases of COVID-19, 1,581 fewer than the day before. The record of 33,844 was set Nov. 23.
Tulsa County reported 520 additional patients as recovered, bringing the total to 29,893. The county has 4,344 active cases, 292 fewer than the day before. The record is 5,078, set Nov. 23.
The state's reported overall positive test rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 9.7% on Wednesday. Out of 20,054 tests reported on Wednesday, 17.1% 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 9.4%, up 0.1 percentage points 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.
