OSDH: 628 new COVID-19 cases, 6 more deaths in Oklahoma reported Thursday

ENID, Okla. — There were 628 new COVID-19 cases, including eight in Northwest Oklahoma, and six deaths reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health Thursday morning.

The state has COVID-19 cases in all 77 counties, as Cheyenne in Roger Mills County, the last one to remain without an officially confirmed case, recorded two through the OSDH on Thursday. The county had reported a case July 10 but this week had not been showing cases through the OSDH website.

The number of new cases on Thursday was considerably lower than 1,075, a single-day record set Wednesday on a day that also saw the state's governor, Kevin Stitt, report he was COVID-19 positive. The governor said Wednesday he started feeling achy on Tuesday and tested for the virus.

"He continues to feel good and is following CDC guidelines by quarantining," according to the OSDH daily report on Thursday.

Interim Commissioner Lance Frye said based on the governor’s symptoms and timing of his test, Stitt became contagious no earlier than Saturday. All points of contact have been notified and are following quarantine guidance, according to the OSDH.

Single-day gains in Northwest Oklahoma Thursday include two more cases in Garfield County, four in Kingfisher County and one each in Noble and Woodward counties. COVID-19 case gains per city included two each in Enid and Kingfisher, and one each in Dover, Fairview, Hennessey and Okarche. OSDH also reported the first case in the town of Billings, in western Noble County, on Thursday.

Statewide, the number of COVID-19 cases since the virus was confirmed in Oklahoma in March reached 23,441, a 2.75% single-day gain, according to OSDH's daily report. Five of the deaths reported Thursday were in the 65 and older age range — three men in Osage, Rogers and Tulsa counties and two women in McCurtain and Oklahoma counties — and a Tulsa County woman was in the 50-64 age range.

Cumulative deaths associated with the virus in the state is 438, or 1.87% of the total number of cases, according to OSDH. Of those deaths, 80% have been 65 and older, based on OSDH data.

The number of Oklahomans hospitalized increased by 48 to 2,218 overall, according to OSDH on Thursday. Of those, 694 currently are in hospitals, a single-day increase of 56, with 247 in intensive care, 12 more than Wednesday, based on the OSDH latest Executive Report filed Thursday night.

In Enid, St. Mary's Regional Medical Center is caring for three patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, Lori Boyd, director of marketing for St. Mary’s, said Thursday. Integris Bass Baptist Health Center had four patients as of Thursday.

“With those four and other patients we are treating, we currently have no more negative pressure rooms for COVID patients,” said Tania Warnock, marketing project lead for Integris Bass.

Warnock said Bass has the closest beds to Integris Baptist in Oklahoma City and is receiving transfers to help ease with patient loads. The Bass ICU currently is full, she said.

“We are working to convert more normal rooms into negative pressure rooms and expect to have those up by tomorrow so that we can continue to take patients. We are sufficiently equipped with ventilators.”

St. Mary’s has a 64% bed availability in its ICU and 87% of its ventilators are available, Boyd reported.

State numbers

After topping the 5,000 mark on Wednesday with an influx of newly confirmed cases, the number of those active on Thursday were 4,908, a decrease of 107 compared to Wednesday. There have been 18,095, or 77.19%, who have recovered from the virus, including 729 since Wednesday's OSDH report. OSDH defines recovered as "currently not hospitalized or deceased and 14 days after onset/report."

A total of 460,246 specimens have been tested for COVID-19, with 433,376, or 94.2%, negative, according to OSDH data on Thursday.

An increase among the 18-35 age group continues to lead the increase in numbers, resulting in the average age of those with COVID-19 at 40.7, OSDH data shows. On Thursday, COVID-19 case increases were 231 in the 18-35 age group, 137 in the 36-49 age group, 108 in the 50-64 age group, 76 each in the 65 and older age group, 62 in the 5-17 age group and 15 in the 0-4 age group.

Cumulative totals as of Thursday were 491 in the 0-4 age group, 1,775 in the 5-17 age group, 8,549 in the 18-35 age group, 5,148 in the 36-49 age group, 4,100 in the 50-64 age group and 3,378 in the 65 and older age group. There was one case with an age unknown, according to OSDH.

Of those testing positive, 11,982, or 51.12%, have been female, and 11,414 or 48.69%, have been male. There are 45 listed as "unknown" gender, according to OSDH data on Thursday.

Of the overall 438 deaths in the state, 351 or 80.14%, have been 65 and older; 69 or 15.97%, have been in the 50-64 age group; 10, or 2.31%, have been in the 36-49 age group; 7, or 1.62%, have been in the 18-35 age group; and one, or .23%, has been in the 5-17 age group. More men, 228, than women, 210, have succumbed to the virus, according to OSDH on Thursday. The average age of those who have died is 75.1.

OSDH reports 78.5% of those who have died have had a pre-existing condition. More than half of the deaths, 221, have been long-term care or nursing home cases, according to OSDH. There have been 1,177 cases among long-term care residents and 712 cases among staff, according to OSDH's Executive Report filed Thursday evening.

Data shows deaths in 48 of Oklahoma's 77 counties, with 81 in Tulsa County; 77 in Oklahoma County; 40 in Cleveland County; 39 in Washington County; 19 in Wagoner County; 17 in Delaware County; 14 in Muskogee County; 13 in McCurtain County; 11 in Caddo County; 9 each in Comanche, Creek, Kay and Osage counties; 8 in Rogers County; 7 in Greer County; 6 in Texas County; 5 in Grady and Mayes counties; 4 each in Adair, McClain and Pottawatomie counties; 3 each in Canadian, Garvin, Jackson, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Seminole and Sequoyah counties; 2 each in Carter, Cotton, Garfield, Lincoln, Ottawa, Payne and Pontotoc counties; and 1 each in Bryan, Cherokee, Choctaw, Kiowa, Latimer, Leflore, Logan, Major, McIntosh, Noble, Nowata, Stephens and Tillman counties.

Northwest Oklahoma

COVID-19 data released Thursday for Northwest Oklahoma counties shows Garfield with 140 cases, 105 recovered and two deaths, a woman in the 36-49 age group in June and an 86-year-old from Garfield County in April; Noble with 56 cases, 46 recovered and one death; Kingfisher with 58 cases, 37 recovered; Blaine with 22 cases, 17 recovered; Woodward with 16 cases, 14 recovered; Major with 16 cases, 13 recovered and one death, a woman in 18-35 age group in April; Woods with 11 cases, eight recovered; Grant with three cases, two recovered; and Alfalfa with one recovered case.

Cumulative COVID-19 cases by city or town in Northwest Oklahoma include 132 in Enid (35 active); 24 in Kingfisher (11 active); 15 in Okarche (four active); 14 each in Hennessey (three active) and Woodward (two active); 10 in Watonga (two active); nine in Alva (one active); seven in Fairview (one active); six in Geary (one active); five in Ringwood (one active); three each in Dover (two active), Garber, Lahoma and Longdale (one active); two each in Freedom (two active), Laverne (one active) and Meno; and one each in Billings (one active), Canton (one active), Fort Supply, Hitchcock, Jet, Lamont, Medford, Mooreland, Okeene, Pond Creek (one active) and Waukomis (one active), according to data released by OSDH on Thursday. Residents living in areas with under 100 in population or those with unknown addresses may be recorded as "other."

In Enid, there have been 67 cases with 52 recovered, from the 73701 Zip Code, primarily the eastern half of the city, and 64 cases with 44 recovered from 73703, or the western half, according to OSDH data on Thursday. There also has been one recovered case in the 73705 Zip Code, which is listed as Vance Air Force Base at https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/.

Long-term care facilities

Nursing homes with resident- or staff-related COVID-19 cases have remained light in Northwest Oklahoma, according to OSDH reports, with eight in Enid — three at The Arbors, one of which was reported July 14 in the OSDH's Executive Report; two at The Commons in April; and one at Garland Road Nursing & Rehabilitation, which officials at the facility say subsequently tested negative. Golden Oaks Retirement Community verified July 3 that a contract employee had tested positive for COVID-19 and on July 15 that another contract employee had tested positive, but the facility is not listed on the OSDH report.

Positive tests in long-term care facilities in the area include one each in Blaine, Woods and Woodward counties, five in Kingfisher County and five at Center of Love in Okarche in Canadian County. There have been two in Major County, including one staff member at Seiling Nursing Center who lived in Major County, tested positive and died in April, according to OSDH data.

COVID-19 testing

State Health Department officials are encouraging Oklahomans to get tested for COVID-19, saying recently that due to adequate supplies, residents no longer need to exhibit symptoms or report exposure to someone with the virus to get in line for testing.

Free testing for COVID-19 is ongoing at the Garfield County and other state Health Departments. Testing is by appointment only for Blaine County, 521 W. 4th, Watonga, (580) 623-7977; Garfield County, 2501 S. Mercer, Enid, (580) 233-0650; Grant County, 115 N. Main, Medford, (580) 395-2906; Kingfisher County, 124 E. Sheridan, courthouse annex room #101, Kingfisher, (405) 375-3008; Major County, 501 E. Broadway, Fairview, (580) 227-3362; Noble County, 300 Fir St., Perry, (580) 336-2257; Woods County, 511 Barnes St., Alva, (580) 327-3192; and Woodward County, 1631 Texas Ave., Woodward, (580) 256-6416. For a full list of county drive-through testing, go to https://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/drive-thru-testing. Some health department also advise the public to check their Facebook pages for more information regarding testing.

COVID-19 signs

Emergency warning signs for COVID-19 are trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to arouse, bluish lips or face, according to the CDC. More information can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.

Those with symptoms of COVID-19 should call ahead to local emergency rooms. Those with minor symptoms should contact their regular physicians.

Resources and information on COVID-19 can be obtained by calling 211 or going to https://covidresources.ok.gov/.

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