Today was double last Wednesday, which was almost double the Wednesday before.

And Tuesdays and Wednesdays are always the lowest days of the week for some reason.

As I mentioned, compared to the same 5-day period last week (which more than doubled our previous high), we are still almost 20,000 more this week.


When 10,000 new cases per day aren't considered insane, that's pretty telling about the current state of this pandemic.

Today was double last Wednesday, which was almost double the Wednesday before.

And Tuesdays and Wednesdays are always the lowest days of the week for some reason.

As I mentioned, compared to the same 5-day period last week (which more than doubled our previous high), we are still almost 20,000 more this week.


When 10,000 new cases per day aren't considered insane, that's pretty telling about the current state of this pandemic.
True. But we knew from watching everywhere Omicron hit earlier that this was coming. It's not like we were going to magically avoid it.

True. But we knew from watching everywhere Omicron hit earlier that this was coming. It's not like we were going to magically avoid it.
Right. It wouldn’t have taken magic.

13,406 new cases today. 7-day average now 9,917.

We've already smashed the record for weekly new cases, and still have a day left in the reporting week.


Hospitalizations are 1,694 (-8).

ICU is 372 (+45).

Today was double last Wednesday, which was almost double the Wednesday before.

And Tuesdays and Wednesdays are always the lowest days of the week for some reason.

As I mentioned, compared to the same 5-day period last week (which more than doubled our previous high), we are still almost 20,000 more this week.


When 10,000 new cases per day aren't considered insane, that's pretty telling about the current state of this pandemic.
I hate to think about next weeks numbers. Are people just getting immune to the shock of the numbers?

Stillwater Regional Hospital reported on its FB page of Covid Testing Stats: 618 tests completed in last 24 hours - 47% positivity rate. That surely pretty high.

13,939 new cases today; 7-day average now 9,850.

Hospitalizations are 1,819 (+125).

ICU is 368 (-4).

For the week ending Friday:

83,356 new cases. Last several weeks: 59,393; 28,655; 14,728; 8,304, 5,582.

Hospitalizations are +416 since last Friday.

ICU is +64 since last Friday.

For the week ending Friday:

83,356 new cases. Last several weeks: 59,393; 28,655; 14,728; 8,304, 5,582.

Hospitalizations are +416 since last Friday.

ICU is +64 since last Friday.

I'm curious how they will be able to track ICU admissions once there are no longer available staffed ICU beds.

I think the are now at the point of counting people that are waiting on an ICU bed too. SSM Health, OU Health, Mercy, and Integris Health all report 0 ICU beds available.
https://okchospitalreport.com/

17298

The numerous data tables the New York Times offers should be reason enough to award them a Pulitzer. I just looked and Oklahoma is second only to Alaska among states in the increase in cases over the last 14 days. The Times shows a 208% increase, with a daily average of more than 11,000 cases. This means we likely have not peaked yet in cases and, because hospitalizations usually lag behind cases a week or two, the already dire problem of hospital availability will likely become existentially bad.

Hopefully, for those who need it, we can begin transporting patients to other states where cases have begun to drop dramatically (although many of those are still stretched to the max with hospital availability).

I hate to think about next weeks numbers. Are people just getting immune to the shock of the numbers?
There are those who might be numb. Then there are those like me who have tracked Omicron from the beginning in South Africa and knew this was going to happen no matter what. It's not like Oklahoma could become a bubble and keep Omicron out.

13,571 new cases today.

Hospitalizations are 1,887 (+68).

ICU is 380 (+12).

Not sure if this was posted but here’s how to get free N95 masks: https://www.msn.com/en-US/news/us/how-to-get-free-n-masks-from-the-government/ar-AASWSqW?ocid=sapphireappshare

For the 3-day period, new cases were 33,721. That is down for the same period last week, which was 42,157.

Hospitalizations are 1,868 (-19).

ICU is 373 (-7).

Those are looking better. And there's reason to believe we might have peaked. On Reuters two weeks ago all 50 states had rising 14 day averages. Today 22 states averages are flat and 6 are falling. The number of states flat and falling is growing daily.

8,810 new cases today. Last several Tuesdays: 3,853; 5,011; 4,110; 2,443; 564.


Hospitalizations are 1,911 (+43).

ICU is 379 (+6).

What would that make the average daily (and the average daily change)?

11,411 and +9%.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/?itid=sf_coronavirus_sn_coronavirus-us-cases-deaths_1&state=OK

All of the Post's Covid statistics are free.

So, we haven't peaked yet, as I suspected.

So, we haven't peaked yet, as I suspected.

It actually appears we have peaked. The 7 day averaged topped out at 11,908 cases. It's now at 11,411. But we will really need to see what the numbers over the next few days look like to confirm. I'd say it looks promising we are on the downward trend. Hopefully it goes down as quickly as it rose.

It actually appears we have peaked. The 7 day averaged topped out at 11,908 cases. It's now at 11,411. But we will really need to see what the numbers over the next few days look like to confirm. I'd say it looks promising we are on the downward trend. Hopefully it goes down as quickly as it rose.

Yeah, the NY Times 7-day average chart (which is a day behind the current day) looks like we *hopefully* have finally peaked. Last Tuesday's numbers were bizarrely low so tomorrow it may bump up slightly, but who knows.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJ9wgQTX0AI2rhu?format=png&name=900x900

It actually appears we have peaked. The 7 day averaged topped out at 11,908 cases. It's now at 11,411. But we will really need to see what the numbers over the next few days look like to confirm. I'd say it looks promising we are on the downward trend. Hopefully it goes down as quickly as it rose.

Remember Tuesday and Wednesday are always the lowest days of the week, therefore the rolling average almost always goes down for those two days.

The slight downturn does not necessarily mean we've peaked.

So, we haven't peaked yet, as I suspected.
But there are indications that we're close if not quite there. Ark, Tx, Miss, La and Col have all peaked and are dropping. We should be on close to the same timing as those states.

It's hard to say we've peaked when our test positivity rate is 45%. Hopefully soon though.

Remember Tuesday and Wednesday are always the lowest days of the week, therefore the rolling average almost always goes down for those two days.

The slight downturn does not necessarily mean we've peaked.Today isn't on the NYT graph yet. The downturn on the graph started Saturday.

And on Reuters one page of all 50 states graphs only 15 still have increasing 14 day averages. Nationwide this surge is improving.

^

Yet Tuesday (today) was well more than double last Tuesday's numbers.

Way too early to say we've peaked, although I hope that's true.

Last Tuesday was very oddly low compared to the rest of last week. It had to be another one of those unexplainable oops data days.

^

Today was still much, much higher than any previous Tuesday.

It actually appears we have peaked. The 7 day averaged topped out at 11,908 cases. It's now at 11,411. But we will really need to see what the numbers over the next few days look like to confirm. I'd say it looks promising we are on the downward trend. Hopefully it goes down as quickly as it rose.

Good news. Hope you're right. I had to go to the medical offices at Saints today and I was shocked to see some folks in the lobby wandering around without masks on. Serious respect for people in the medical community; I cannot imagine how they must feel going to work day after day.

8,160 new cases today. Last several Wednesdays: 10,001; 5,507; 3,914; 765.

For the first five days of the week, there have been 50,691 new cases. That is compared to the same period last week of 56,011; the week before was 37,576.


Hospitalizations are 1,970 (+59).

ICU is 373 (-6).

Press release:

****************

OSDH Releases Updates on Treatments for COVID-19
After recent updates from the FDA
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is committed to sharing the most up to date and timely information about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Monday, the FDA removed the authorization for the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments that have been on the market, REGEN-COV and Bam/Ete, due to their ineffectiveness against the omicron variant, taking into consideration the prevalence of omicron in the country.

Right now, in Oklahoma, our sequencing surveillance shows us 98% of cases are attributable to the omicron variant.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) currently recommends four treatments for COVID-19. Listed in order of preference those are Paxlovid, Sotrovimab, Remdesivir and Molnupiravir.

“We know that the supply of these treatments is limited across the country,” said Keith Reed, interim commissioner of health. “We want Oklahomans to know that despite the limited supply, our team is doing everything we can to secure these treatments for our state.”

Individuals seeking Paxlovid, Sotrovimab and Molnupiravir can utilize the OK Therapeutics Locator Tool here to find providers nearby.

Oklahomans will need to call a site directly or speak with their healthcare provider for access to these treatments, rather than showing up to a site seeking them.

Individuals seeking out Remdesivir will also need to speak with their healthcare provider to discuss eligibility and access options. This product is not allocated through the state by the OSDH.

We want to also take time to remind Oklahomans that our healthcare systems are currently experiencing a high number of COVID hospitalizations, paired with some of our most severe staffing shortages. If you are seeking testing, please utilize county health departments, pharmacies or healthcare provider offices. Testing locations can be found here.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) protects and improves public health through its system of local health services and strategies focused on preventing disease. OSDH provides technical support and guidance to 68 county health departments in Oklahoma, as well as guidance and consultation to the two independent city-county health departments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Learn more at Oklahoma.gov/health.

Confirms what my fiance has been telling me for a couple of weeks... The hospitals she works in have not been using them for the reason given.

Their supplies are limited and the hospitals don't want to waste it on Omicron.

Just received the government-issued totally free tests in the mail:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/covidtests1.jpg

13,428 new cases today. Last several Thursdays: 13,406; 10,502; 6,280; 4,166; 1,917.

Hospitalizations are 2,070 (+100). That surpasses the previous high of 1,994 on 1/6/21.

ICU is 390 (+17). All-time high was 501on 12/31/20.

Just received the government-issued totally free tests in the mail:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/covidtests1.jpg

Really glad the federal government doing this. They should have sent quality N95 masks and tests long ago. Glad it's finally happening.

13,428 new cases today. Last several Thursdays: 13,406; 10,502; 6,280; 4,166; 1,917.

Hospitalizations are 2,070 (+100). That surpasses the previous high of 1,994 on 1/6/21.

ICU is 390 (+17). All-time high was 501on 12/31/20.

As noted by OSDH 2000 of the cases reported today were delayed in reporting and are 14 days old.

* at the bottom here: https://oklahoma.gov/covid19/newsroom/2022/january/situation-update--covid-19-01-27-2022.html

As noted by OSDH 2000 of the cases reported today were delayed in reporting and are 14 days old.

* at the bottom here: https://oklahoma.gov/covid19/newsroom/2022/january/situation-update--covid-19-01-27-2022.html
There were also 887 yesterday. The state will never get it completely right.

8,655 new cases today. Last several Fridays: 13,939; 11,315; 6,438; 3,974; 1,011.

Hospitalizations are 2,243 (+173), another new record.

ICU is 428 (+38).

For the week ending Friday...

72,774 new cases. Last several weeks: 83,356; 59,393; 28,655; 14,728, 8,304, 5,862.

There was a footnote regarding hospitalizations:

"Today's rise in the number of hospitalizations reported is due to some hospitals reporting a full week of data in one day versus the daily reports we would expect. Today's number does not reflect the actual day over day increase we've seen this month," the health department wrote.

It does seem that cases of omicron have truly peaked and are on the down slope. Hopefully this hospitalization challenge will begin to rectify itself in another week or two.

Press release:

***************

OSDH to Distribute N95 Masks to Local Pharmacies Across the State from state supply

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is working to make sure Oklahomans have widely available access to N95 masks in the state.

In partnership with the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association and pharmacy partners around the state, the OSDH will be distributing N95 masks around the state to local pharmacies through a distribution system that will provide Oklahomans the opportunity to go to their local pharmacies to receive N95 masks, free of charge.

Through the OSDH and Federal Government distributions, local, independent pharmacies and pharmacies that are a part of the Federal Retail Providers program will have N95 masks available to Oklahomans throughout the state.

“With the highly transmissible omicron variant we know that the quality of the mask someone chooses to wear matters,” said Michael DeRemer, director of emergency preparedness and response service for the OSDH. “We want to make sure all Oklahomans have access to the best mask possible to protect themselves and others from this virus, no matter where they live and at no-cost.”

The first shipment of masks was sent to select pharmacies on Thursday, Jan. 27 with the next shipment, to additional pharmacies, occurring on Monday, Jan. 31.

In total, the OSDH will be distributing a total of just over 500,000 N95 masks across the state

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) protects and improves public health through its system of local health services and strategies focused on preventing disease. OSDH provides technical support and guidance to 68 county health departments in Oklahoma, as well as guidance and consultation to the two independent city-county health departments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Learn more at Oklahoma.gov/health.

It does seem that cases of omicron have truly peaked and are on the down slope. Hopefully this hospitalization challenge will begin to rectify itself in another week or two.I really hope so. The hospital staffs really need a break.

Even if new cases have peaked, hospitalization and ICU lag.

And, even though numbers were slightly less than last week, they are still astronomically high, especially when you consider that many people are not being tested or are using home tests that are not included in the reported totals.

Even if new cases have peaked, hospitalization and ICU lag.

And, even though numbers were slightly less than last week, they are still astronomically high, especially when you consider that many people are not being tested or are using home tests that are not included in the reported totals.True. And why we need to hope that our cases will drop as fast as other states have once they started falling. Then, eventually hospitalizations will follow.

True. And why we need to hope that our cases will drop as fast as other states have once they started falling. Then, eventually hospitalizations will follow.
Awfully optimistic considering the "mutant Omicron" that Denmark and the UK believe may be even more contagious than the currently dominant Omicron.

Awfully optimistic considering the "mutant Omicron" that Denmark and the UK believe may be even more contagious than the currently dominant Omicron.The "second" Omicron was actually discovered about the same time as the currently dominant Omicron. Here's a good article:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-omicron-ba2-variant/#app

And yes, I'm going to be optimistic. Much more negativity and it won't be COVID that kills me!

Press release:

***************

OSDH to Distribute N95 Masks to Local Pharmacies Across the State from state supply

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is working to make sure Oklahomans have widely available access to N95 masks in the state.

In partnership with the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association and pharmacy partners around the state, the OSDH will be distributing N95 masks around the state to local pharmacies through a distribution system that will provide Oklahomans the opportunity to go to their local pharmacies to receive N95 masks, free of charge.

Through the OSDH and Federal Government distributions, local, independent pharmacies and pharmacies that are a part of the Federal Retail Providers program will have N95 masks available to Oklahomans throughout the state.

“With the highly transmissible omicron variant we know that the quality of the mask someone chooses to wear matters,” said Michael DeRemer, director of emergency preparedness and response service for the OSDH. “We want to make sure all Oklahomans have access to the best mask possible to protect themselves and others from this virus, no matter where they live and at no-cost.”

The first shipment of masks was sent to select pharmacies on Thursday, Jan. 27 with the next shipment, to additional pharmacies, occurring on Monday, Jan. 31.

In total, the OSDH will be distributing a total of just over 500,000 N95 masks across the state

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) protects and improves public health through its system of local health services and strategies focused on preventing disease. OSDH provides technical support and guidance to 68 county health departments in Oklahoma, as well as guidance and consultation to the two independent city-county health departments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Learn more at Oklahoma.gov/health.

It's hilarious that OSDH press releases like this act like this didn't come straight from the federal government. They assiduously avoid any mention of it. It's as if they had people out there scouting the universe for masks for Oklahomans. Gee, thanks so much OSDH for opening the mail!

From the release: “We want to make sure all Oklahomans have access to the best mask possible to protect themselves and others from this virus, no matter where they live and at no-cost.”

What a joke they they didn't mention that these were given to them to distribute by the Biden Administration and they are trying to act like their "Covid czar" sourced them out of the goodness of OSDH's heart.

Awfully optimistic considering the "mutant Omicron" that Denmark and the UK believe may be even more contagious than the currently dominant Omicron.

This was made out to be more than it is. Also, hard to imagine anything more contagious than the main variant. It's probably the most contagious disease to ever hit the planet.

This was made out to be more than it is. Also, hard to imagine anything more contagious than the main variant. It's probably the most contagious disease to ever hit the planet.
Hard to say considering the upticks those places saw in cases again shortly after Omicron BA.1 had become the dominant strain. And it's not the most contagious disease to hit the planet - that would be measles.

This was made out to be more than it is. Also, hard to imagine anything more contagious than the main variant. It's probably the most contagious disease to ever hit the planet.

Almost. I believe german measles is the only thing more contagious - it's basic reproductive number (R0) is between 12-18, whereas the Omicron strain of COVID has a R0 between 7-14. That said, Omicron has a much shorter incubation period so it effectively spreads much, much faster.

Hard to say considering the upticks those places saw in cases again shortly after Omicron BA.1 had become the dominant strain. And it's not the most contagious disease to hit the planet - that would be measles.But again B1.A and B1.B were discovered about the same time. B1.A took off like lightning and B1.B hasn't. If it does I'll eat crow but so far it's not a big deal.

10,539 new cases today. Last couple of Saturdays: 13,571; 14,403 -- only have been reporting on Saturday for a few weeks.

Hospitalizations are 2,227 (-16).

ICU is 422 (-6).

10,539 new cases today. Last couple of Saturdays: 13,571; 14,403 -- only have been reporting on Saturday for a few weeks.

Hospitalizations are 2,227 (-16).

ICU is 422 (-6).

It's looking more like cases have peaked for this surge. Now we need hospitalizations to follow. Which they will at some point.

For the 3-day period (Sat, Sun, Mon) there were 23,798 new cases. Last several 3-day totals: 27,510; 42,157; 27,058; 12,023.

Hospitalizations are 2,142 (-85).

ICU is 411 (-11).

OSDH to distribute N95 masks across the state:

https://www.news9.com/story/61f7e3f0394cbd0729315d1a/osdh-to-distribute-n95-masks-to-pharmacies-across-the-state

Finally got my government-provided Covid tests in the mail yesterday.

2,435 new cases today. Last several Tuesdays: 8,810; 3,853; 5,011; 4,110; 2,443; 564.

Hospitalizations are 2,017 (-125).

ICU is 404 (-7).

2,435 new cases today. Last several Tuesdays: 8,810; 3,853; 5,011; 4,110; 2,443; 564.

Hospitalizations are 2,017 (-125).

ICU is 404 (-7).
Glad to see hospital numbers dropping pretty steadily for a few days. Not quickly but at least dropping.