OSDH: 80 new COVID-19 cases, including 2 in NW Okla., 5 more deaths reported Saturday – Enid News & Eagle

ENID, Okla. — There were 80 new cases of COVID-19, including one each in Garfield and Woodward counties, and five more deaths reported Saturday, May 30, 2020, by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

Week-to-week, Oklahoma saw a 17.8% decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases, with 590 reported between Friday, May 22, and Thursday, May 28, 2020, as compared to 718 reported May 15-21, OSDH data shows. It was the second-lowest since OSDH began its weekly summary report the week of April 17-23.

The number of new deaths rose 10%, however, with 22 reported on the May 22-28 report as compared to 20 on the May 15-21 report, according to OSDH.

Of the new deaths reported Saturday, all occurred between May 23 and Thursday, May 28, according to the OSDH, and all were 65 or older — three women in McCurtain, Oklahoma and Tulsa counties and two men in Tulsa County.

Other than the cases reported in Enid and Woodward, there were no other new cases in Northwest Oklahoma.

State numbers

The number of cumulative cases in the state on Saturday was 6,418, according to OSDH, a 1.26% increase over Friday’s 6,338 cases. Of those cases, 649 were active, a decrease of 20 compared to Friday, according to OSDH data. There have been 5,435 Oklahomans, or 84.68%, who have recovered from the virus, with 95 of those on Friday. 

OSDH reports 194,496 cumulative number of COVID-19 specimens have been drawn, with 186,700 of those negative. 

There have been 985 Oklahomans who have tested positive for COVID-19 who have been hospitalized, with 154 of those currently in facilities and 65 of those in intensive care, according to OSDH data. The department originally had ICU numbers much lower on its May 28 report but revised it later to reflect those admissions to be similar to previous daily reports.

Cumulative totals of those testing positive in the state as of Saturday are 88 in the 0-4 age range, 245 in the 5-17 age range, 1,674 in the 18-35 age range, 1,429 in the 36-49 age range, 1,400 in the 50-64 age range and 1,582 in the 65 and older age range. The average age of those with COVID-19 is 48.7, according to OSDH data. Of those testing positive, 3,385, or 52.74%, have been female, and 3,014, or 46.96%, have been male. Nineteen are listed as “unknown” gender, according to OSDH data. 

Of the 334 deaths in the state, 269, or 80.54%, have been 65 and older; 54, or 16.17%, have been in the 50-64 age group; 7, or 2.09%, have been in the 36-49 age group; and 4, or 1.20%, have been in the 18-35 age group. More men, 173 or 51.80%, than women, 161 or 48.20%, have succumbed to the virus, according to OSDH.

Of those testing positive who have died, 75.1% had at least one pre-existing condition such as diabetes, heart or circulatory disease, chronic lung disease, liver disease or renal failure. The average age of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 who have died is 75.2, according to OSDH.

Data shows deaths per county are 61 in Oklahoma County; 54 in Tulsa County; 37 in Cleveland County; 35 in Washington County; 17 in Wagoner County; 16 in Delaware County; 10 in Caddo County; 8 in Osage County; 7 each in Creek, Greer and Kay counties; 6 in Muskogee County; 5 each in Rogers and Texas counties; 4 each in Mayes and Pottawatomie counties; 3 each in Adair, Canadian, Comanche, Grady, Jackson, McClain, Pittsburg and Sequoyah counties; 2 each in Cotton, Lincoln, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pontotoc, and Seminole counties; and 1 each in Bryan, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Garfield, Garvin, Latimer, Leflore, Logan, Major, McCurtain, McIntosh, Payne, Stephens and Tillman counties.

Northwest Oklahoma

In Northwest Oklahoma, Garfield County has 27 cases, with 24 recovered and one death, an 86-year-old Garfield County woman; Kingfisher County has 11 cases, with 10 recovered; Blaine County has 6 cases with 4 recovered; Major County has 6 cases, with 5 recovered and one death, a woman in the 18-35 age group; Woodward County has 5 cases, with 3 recovered; Woods County with 3 cases, with all recovered; Grant County with 2 cases, with both recovered; and Alfalfa County has 1 recovered case. 

Cumulative COVID-19 cases by city or town in Northwest Oklahoma include 24 in Enid (3 active), 5 in Kingfisher (1 active); 4 each in Okarche (1 active) and Woodward (1 active); 3 each in Alva, Fairview, Geary (2 active) and Hennessey; 2 each in Lahoma, Seiling and Watonga; and 1 each in Dover, Garber, Jet, Lamont, Laverne, Medford, Mooreland (1 active), Okeene and Ringwood, according to data released by OSDH on Wednesday. Residents living in areas with under 100 in population or those with unknown addresses may be recorded as “other.”

There have now been cases confirmed in 74 of the state’s 77 counties, with Ellis, Harmon and Roger Mills counties in western Oklahoma the only counties without confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Oklahoma, according to OSDH.

State Health Department officials are encouraging Oklahomans to get tested for COVID-19, saying Thursday, May 28, 2020, 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.

Long-term care facilities 

The virus has impacted Oklahoma’s long-term care and nursing home facilities particularly hard, with 948, or 15%, of the state’s positive COVID-19 cases involving a resident or staff member, according to the OSDH executive report Tuesday evening, which also states there have been 171 deaths involving long-term care centers and nursing homes, including one staff member in Northwest Oklahoma in April. 

There are three confirmed positive results associated with long-term care facilities in Enid and one that is being disputed after the Oklahoma State Department of Health reported it on Thursday. Officials with Garland Road Nursing & Rehabilitation said the person at their facility has since tested negative for the virus. OSDH still had the facility listed on its executive report Friday evening, as the testing was taken by a local hospital.

The Commons was one of the first testing sites in the statewide initiative after an employee and another resident of the retirement and assisted living facility in Enid were confirmed positive for the virus April 30 while undergoing health care for unrelated issues, according to the facility. One other resident of the Commons tested positive for COVID-19, according to an OSDH report on Friday May 15, 2020, and one other test was inconclusive, according to Garfield County Health Department.

In addition to Garfield County facilities, OSDH reported a long-term care facility case involving a Blaine County individual on Tuesday, May 19, 2020.

In April, a resident and two staff members, including a caregiver from Major County who died, tested positive for COVID-19 at Seiling Nursing Center, and a resident at First Shamrock Care Center in Kingfisher contracted the virus, according to OSDH. 

OSDH also reported a long-term care facility case involving a Blaine County individual on May 19, one at Center of Family Love in Okarche on May 14 and Hennessey Nursing & Rehab, a senior living facility in Kingfisher County on May 12.

CDC information

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added six new COVID-19 symptoms to its list that people should be aware: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell. These symptoms may appear 2–14 days after exposure to the virus. The main symptoms of COVID-19 remain coughing and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

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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