Local & Regional

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 2,859 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 202,341.

It took the state seven months to break 100,000 cases and just over seven weeks to break 200,000.

Tulsa County had 425 of Wednesday's new cases. Its total now stands at 34,288, second to Oklahoma County's 41,494.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported Tuesday a record-breaking 1,782 Oklahomans hospitalized due to COVID-19 across the state, with 475 of those -- also a record high -- requiring intensive care.

Oklahoma Hospital Association President Patti Davis said Tuesday hospitals are dealing with capacity issues across the state.

The Oklahoma Blood Institute is calling on Oklahomans who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate plasma, which can be used in the treatment of those battling the disease in hospitals.

"Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) began collecting convalescent plasma in early April, as soon as it showed promise in treating patients suffering from severe symptoms of COVID-19," the institute said in a release. "OBI is now distributing more than a thousand units per week to community hospitals.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — As coronavirus continues surging in Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt has declared Thursday a day of prayer and fasting in the state.

Oklahoma’s seven-day rolling average of new cases recently peaked at 3,318. It has since dropped to 2,696. It has not been below 1,000 in nearly two months. The Oklahoma State Department of Health on Monday reported a one-day high of 1,718 hospitalizations.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Tuesday 1,737 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 199,482.

Tulsa County had 294 of Tuesday's cases. Its total now stands at 33,863, second to Oklahoma County's 40,803.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, fell from 2,839 to 2,696. It's the third straight day the average has declined and the first time it's been below 2,700 in two weeks. The record is 3,318, set on Thanksgiving Day. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.

Tulsa International Airport recorded fewer than half the number of Thanksgiving passengers this year compared to 2019, but thousands still flew despite the dire warnings of public health experts against holiday travel as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens.

From Monday, Nov. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 29, the airport saw 16,283 passengers pass through security checkpoints, down about 52% from 34,081 over the same holiday period last year, according to Andrew Pierini, the airport's director of air service and marketing. 

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Monday 2,200 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 197,745.

Tulsa County had 362 of Monday's cases. Its total now stands at 33,569, second to Oklahoma County's 40,259.

The state added 74,983 cases of COVID-19 to its total in November, the most of any month so far and a 111% increase from the previous high in October. 

Cherokee Nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is drawing praise from public health experts and attention in the national media.

A recent feature story in STAT, a news outlet focused on health and medicine, quotes Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, as calling the tribe's pandemic response "very impressive."

Three bars and four bar employees are suing Oklahoma City over Mayor David Holt’s proclamation that in-person service at bars must end at 11 p.m.

The lawsuit alleges Holt overstepped his legal authority and improperly cited the city’s Riot Control and Prevention Act when he declared a public disaster and issued the proclamation this month.

“The plain and unambiguous language of the RCPA makes clear that its intent is to control and prevent riots—not to contain the spread of pandemics,” according to the lawsuit.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma health officials reported 1,721 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Sunday, and 19 more deaths linked to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health said the new counts bring the state to a total of 195,545 case of the virus and 1,736 fatalities.

The actual number of cases is believed to be far higher because many people haven’t been tested and some who get the disease don’t show symptoms.

Another round of cost-cutting is underway on the Gateway Bridge, the Arkansas River pedestrian bridge set to be Tulsa’s newest landmark.

Tulsa’s Gathering Place LLC Director and Trustee Jeff Stava is overseeing the project. He told the Sales Tax Overview Committee last week that within a few weeks of the last round of bid openings in late September, two companies backed out, pushing up the total cost $5 million and setting the bridge to come in $4.6 million to $7.1 million over its $27.4 million dollar budget.

The Tulsa City Council convenes next Monday for its inauguration, where all nine councilors will be sworn in.

Afterward, the council will hold a special meeting to elect the chair and vice-chair. Despite the worsening pandemic, that will all happen in the city council chambers.

Councilor Lori Decter Wright said they don’t have much choice.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 3,732 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 184,342.

Tulsa County had 416 of Wednesday's new cases. Its total now stands at 31,333, second to Oklahoma County's 37,441.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, jumped from 3,172 to 3,274, its third straight new record and seventh in the past eight days. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.

Physicians, nurses and health care groups in Oklahoma are expressing concern over the state department of health's recent guidance to allow health care workers infected with COVID-19 but asymptomatic to remain on the job rather than quarantine.

"To me, that seems like the most insane thing," said Dr. Scott Michener, chief medical officer at Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton, on a videoconference with reporters organized by the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition on Tuesday.

The leader of the Oklahoma National Guard is imploring citizens to take proper COVID-19 precautions amid rapidly worsening trends in the state's pandemic trajectory.

"In the last three weeks in Oklahoma, we have had over 57,000 cases of COVID-19. Of that number, over 1,500 people have been hospitalized," says Adjutant General Michael Thompson in a new public service announcement. 

Saturday's game between No. 24 Tulsa and the University of Houston has been postponed.

The American Athletic Conference announced late Tuesday that positive tests among Houston and contact tracing of student-athletes were behind the postponement.

The game may be rescheduled for Dec. 19 if neither team is a participant in the conference championship game.