Another 48 COVID-19 deaths reported in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma State Department of Health on Sunday reported 48 additional deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, and 2,941 more cases of the virus.

There were 373,090 total virus cases and a death toll of 3,279 since the pandemic began, according to the health department.

Oklahoma had the fourth highest rate of new cases per capita in the United States at 1,148.19 per 100,000 population according to data from Johns Hopkins University, while the seven-day rolling average of new cases declined during the past two weeks from 4,117.14 per day on Jan. 9 to 2,640.57.

The rolling average of deaths in the state has increased from 30.14 to 39.86 per day during the same time frame, according to the Johns Hopkins data.

Health officials in the state say rising death rates are likely to continue for a week or more, despite a decline in the number of new cases, because it can take several weeks to confirm a death was caused by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.