Oklahoma reports 380 new COVID-19 cases, 50 additional deaths

Emma Keith, The Norman Transcript, Okla.
·4 min read

Mar. 1—The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported just 380 new COVID-19 cases statewide on Monday, including 10 in Norman.

The latest update brings Norman's cumulative COVID-19 case total to 13,274. The city has recorded 12,718 recoveries and 138 total COVID-19-related deaths.

Norman's seven-day new case average is at about 17 cases. Norman Regional Hospital Systems will provide The Transcript with an update on local COVID hospitalizations Monday afternoon.

Oklahomans can use the state's online vaccination portal to pre-register for the vaccine and schedule a vaccination when they are eligible. The portal is available at vaccinate.oklahoma.gov.

After the FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine this weekend, Oklahoma Interim Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye said the state is waiting to hear how many doses it will receive.

"Any new vaccine allotment provides us with more options to distribute the vaccine and open up new access points across the state," Frye said in a statement. "This is great news both for Oklahoma's vaccine plan and for our nation's ongoing fight against COVID-19."

State numbers

Oklahoma reported 380 new cases statewide on Monday, placing the state's cumulative case total at 424,888. Monday's case number brings the state's seven-day case average to 719, down from 736 on Sunday.

The state also reported 50 additional deaths Monday, placing the state death toll at 4,478. Of those deaths, only two occurred in February, according to the health department — 47 of them are from January. It's unclear when the 50th death occurred.

The state will hold a press conference with Oklahoma Epidemiologist Jared Taylor Monday afternoon to discuss changes in Oklahoma's COVID death reporting system, which differs from the way the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the state's deaths. The difference in the two reporting methods has caused a huge discrepancy between Oklahoma and CDC numbers — the CDC shows more than 2,400 more deaths in Oklahoma than the state has currently reported.

Oklahoma's Monday evening executive order report will provide the first update on statewide hospitalizations this week.

County numbers

Cleveland County recorded 32 new COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the county's cumulative case total to 28,727.

The health department has reported 27,427 recoveries in the county. Cleveland County reported three additional deaths on Monday, bringing the county death toll to 273.

Moore reported five new COVID-19 cases Saturday, bringing the city's cumulative case total to 6,136. One of the latest county deaths occurred in Moore, which has now recorded 43 COVID-related deaths.

Friday's update to the health department's risk assessment map again placed the county at an Orange Level on the map. In the State Department of Health and Norman Public Schools' reopening plans, Cleveland County is at an Orange Level 1 — rather than an Orange Level 2 or higher — for the first time since mid-October.

The latest map shows an average of 20.6 new cases in Cleveland County each day during the week of Feb. 20-25, down from the 29.5 new case average recorded the week before.

NPS' case and quarantine reports are available at normanpublicschools.org/Page/3235. OU's case reports are available at ou.edu/together/dashboard.

The Health Department is operating testing locations throughout the state at places and times listed on the OSDH website.

Norman lab IMMY hosts free drive-thru testing events from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at 2701 Corporate Centre Drive. Registration is required ahead of time on IMMY's website at portal.immylabs.com, where the lab also posts other testing sites throughout the state.

OU offers free on-campus testing at Cate Center 3 for students living on campus from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. OU Health Services also offers curbside tests by appointment to OU students, faculty or staff. The health department offers curbside tests by appointment in Moore and Norman. The City of Norman's COVID data dashboard is available at normanok.gov/norman-coronavirus-updates.

Emma Keith covers Norman Public Schools and the University of Oklahoma for The Transcript. Reach her at ekeith@normantranscript.com or at @emma_ckeith.