Oklahoma records 19 virus deaths Wednesday

State health officials recorded more than 660 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as new hospitalizations and deaths linked to the disease remain near all-time high marks.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has recorded 54,838 people have tested positive for the disease, marking a 666 increase since Tuesday. Carter County accounts for 399 total cases after three new confirmations Wednesday.

The true number of cases in Oklahoma is likely higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

Nineteen new deaths linked to COVID-19 were also recorded Wednesday and sent the state death toll to 763. While a vast majority of the most recent deaths recorded were Oklahomans over 65 years old, two of those people were between 36 and 49 years old, according to the OSDH situation update on Wednesday.

Carter County has recorded six deaths connected to COVID-19, with the most recent recorded on Aug. 21. Three of those deaths have been recorded in August.

The month of August has become the deadliest month of the pandemic in Oklahoma, with 222 deaths recorded this month through Wednesday. August’s death toll due to COVID-19 accounts for almost one-third of all virus-related deaths recorded in the state since the first was recorded on March 19.

New hospitalizations of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients also continue to mount by the dozens each day. The seven-day average of new daily hospitalizations remained near 60 on Wednesday and has not dropped below 50 since July 21.

People not listed as recovered or deceased fell slightly on Wednesday. While 7,661 Oklahomans were presumed to have an active case of COVID-19 on Wednesday — down from a record 8,132 on Monday — the number of active cases in Oklahoma has roughly doubled in less than seven weeks.

In Carter County, the number of presumably active cases fell to 39 on Wednesday, the lowest number in a month. Most of these cases were listed in Ardmore with others in Healdton, Lone Grove, Springer and Wilson.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.