OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – There are more than 950 new COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

OSDH reported 978 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of COVID cases since the pandemic started March last year to 428,536. That’s a .2 percent increase, according to OSDH.

The Department of Health does not update the number of COVID-19 patients in Oklahoma hospitals on weekends, but reported on Friday that 396 people were in state hospitals with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

OSDH is reporting 12,378 active COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, a 1.1 percent increase.

The Department of Health is also reporting 411,624 people have recovered from COVID-19 since last March.

The state reports that, so far, 638,966 Oklahomans have received their first dose of the vaccine, while 368,851 have completed both doses.

State health officials say they are now including the CDC’s number of COVID-19 deaths as a provisional count.

COVID-19 death discrepancy: OSDH adds CDC numbers to daily report  

Health officials tell KFOR that since the switch, the death counts will only be updated weekly on Tuesdays.

The Oklahoma State Health Department has always tracked COVID-19 deaths in multiple ways. We have reported the CDC death numbers, which are based purely on death certificates, and our own methodology, which counts deaths after an epidemiological investigation in Acute Disease Service (ADS). Both systems are correct, but each comes with its pros and cons for evaluating deaths related to COVID-19.

As cases increased toward the end of 2020, our investigating epidemiologists began encountering larger numbers of incomplete records requiring in-depth investigation. This has resulted in an increasing difference between the OSDH death count and the one reported by CDC.

Both the CDC and ADS numbers will continue to be available to Oklahomans, but the CDC number will become our primary reported number.

We will also continue our case investigation process through ADS and state epidemiologists. However, we feel this reporting change will align better with CDC’s numbers and will provide the most up-to-date and transparent information for Oklahomans.

Addressing a global crisis in our home state requires flexibility to change course when conditions on the ground mandate a new approach. This is one of those times.

Transparency and access to data is the priority here, and we feel this change is best to keep our state accountable to all Oklahomans during the ongoing fight against COVID-19. Every single death in Oklahoma is a tragedy, and every single life has been and will be counted and remembered as we endure this pandemic.”

State Epidemiologist Dr. Jared Taylor

As a result of that inclusion, the deaths jumped to 7,194, compared to the 4,534 reported by the health department.

Here is the breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma counties:

• Adair: 3,135 (25 deaths) (2,959 recovered)
• Alfalfa: 1,149 (5 deaths) (1,135 recovered)
• Atoka: 1,779 (13 deaths) (1,703 recovered)
• Beaver: 443 (6 deaths) (421 recovered)
• Beckham: 2,797 (37 deaths) (2,668 recovered)
• Blaine: 1,003 (8 deaths) (957 recovered)
• Bryan: 5,957 (56 deaths) (5,645 recovered)
• Caddo: 3,852 (58 deaths) (3,639 recovered)
• Canadian: 16,062 (97 deaths) (15,606 recovered)
• Carter: 5,757 (60 deaths) (5,512 recovered)
• Cherokee: 5,460 (44 deaths) (5,166 recovered)
• Choctaw: 1,578 (14 deaths) (1,485 recovered)
• Cimarron: 203 (1 death) (197 recovered)
• Cleveland: 28,948 (274 deaths) (27,660 recovered)
• Coal: 684 (14 deaths) (654 recovered)
• Comanche: 12,218 (140 deaths) (11,491 recovered)
• Cotton: 658 (13 deaths) (608 recovered)
• Craig: 1,899 (11 deaths) (1,829 recovered)
• Creek: 6,641 (117 deaths) (6,374 recovered)
• Custer: 4,030 (72 deaths) (3,872 recovered)
• Delaware: 4,419 (62 deaths) (4,223 recovered)
• Dewey: 537 (6 deaths) (513 recovered)
• Ellis: 352 (3 deaths) (337 recovered)
• Garfield: 7,610 (78 deaths) (7,337 recovered)
• Garvin: 3,475 (52 deaths) (3,323 recovered)
• Grady: 5,687 (76 deaths) (5,463 recovered)
• Grant: 538 (7 deaths) (524 recovered)
• Greer: 538 (17 deaths) (505 recovered)
• Harmon: 290 (3 deaths) (269 recovered)
• Harper: 407 (4 deaths) (395 recovered)
• Haskell: 1,229 (11 deaths) (1,163 recovered)
• Hughes: 1,169 (17 deaths) (1,096 recovered)
• Jackson: 2,955 (44 deaths) (2,784 recovered)
• Jefferson: 673 (12 deaths) (646 recovered)
• Johnston: 1,334 (20 deaths) (1,260 recovered)
• Kay: 5,100 (81 deaths) (4,867 recovered)
• Kingfisher: 1,996 (24 deaths) (1,931 recovered)
• Kiowa: 799 (16 deaths) (742 recovered)
• Latimer: 815 (9 deaths) (776 recovered)
• Le Flore: 5,422 (44 deaths) (5,242 recovered)
• Lincoln: 3,095 (54 deaths) (2,965 recovered)
• Logan: 4,015 (28 deaths) (3,842 recovered)
• Love: 1,432 (12 deaths) (1,387 recovered)
• Major: 940 (12 deaths) (910 recovered)
• Marshall: 1,872 (12 deaths) (1,820 recovered)
• Mayes: 4,037 (38 deaths) (3,849 recovered)
• McClain: 5,061 (50 deaths) (4,835 recovered)
• McCurtain: 3,835 (64 deaths) (3,583 recovered)
• McIntosh: 1,940 (35 deaths) (1,800 recovered)
• Murray: 1,926 (22 deaths) (1,851 recovered)
• Muskogee: 9,132 (106 deaths) (8,620 recovered)
• Noble: 1,356 (13 deaths) (1,293 recovered)
• Nowata: 1,112 (16 deaths) (1,059 recovered)
• Okfuskee: 1,766 (20 deaths) (1,708 recovered)
• Oklahoma: 81,597 (758 deaths) (78,576 recovered)
• Okmulgee: 3,640 (50 deaths) (3,507 recovered)
• Osage: 4,510 (52 deaths) (4,358 recovered)
• Other: 8
• Ottawa: 3,642 (46 deaths) (3,517 recovered)
• Pawnee: 1,729 (33 deaths) (1,642 recovered)
• Payne: 8,428 (47 deaths) (8,181 recovered)
• Pittsburg: 4,473 (39 deaths) (4,284 recovered)
• Pontotoc: 4,969 (48 deaths) (4,752 recovered)
• Pottawatomie: 7,970 (79 deaths) (7,677 recovered)
• Pushmataha: 995 (14 deaths) (935 recovered)
• Roger Mills: 383 (7 deaths) (361 recovered)
• Rogers: 9,967 (119 deaths) (9,584 recovered)
• Seminole: 2,774 (39 deaths) (2,622 recovered)
• Sequoyah: 3,980 (31 deaths) (3,821 recovered)
• Stephens: 4,703 (68 deaths) (4,531 recovered)
• Texas: 3,456 (24 deaths) (3,366 recovered)
• Tillman: 756 (14 deaths) (714 recovered)
• Tulsa: 71,481 (723 deaths) (69,388 recovered)
• Wagoner: 7,742 (83 deaths) (7,472 recovered)
• Washington: 4,877 (89 deaths) (4,653 recovered)
• Washita: 1,057 (9 deaths) (1,020 recovered)
• Woods: 1,187 (11 deaths) (1,159 recovered)
• Woodward: 3,095 (18 deaths) (3,006 recovered)

State officials urge Oklahomans to stay away from ill patients and to frequently wash their hands. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

At this point, Americans are urged to practice ‘social distancing’ by staying in their homes as much as possible and not going out into a crowd.

The virus is mainly spread from person-to-person, and symptoms usually appear two to 14 days after exposure. Officials stress that the most common symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

If you do become sick, you are asked to stay away from others. If you have been in an area where the coronavirus is known to be spreading or been around a COVID-19 patient and develop symptoms, you are asked to call your doctor ahead of time and warn them that you might have been exposed to the virus. That way, experts say, they have the ability to take extra precautions to protect staff and other patients.