Fewer Oklahomans seeking to continue unemployment benefits

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The number of Oklahomans filing to continue their unemployment benefits continued to decline, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported Thursday.

The agency reported the four-week moving average of claims to continue unemployment benefits decreased for the 29th consecutive week. The agency reported a slight increase in initial claims this week, though, attributing the increase in part to seasonal work coming to a close.

Meanwhile, state health officials reported 3,142 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday and 34 deaths. That brings the total number of confirmed infections in Oklahoma to more than 344,000 and the state’s death toll to 2,882.

Oklahoma has climbed to No. 3 in the nation for the most new cases per capita in the past 14 days, trailing only Arizona and California, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The 7-day rolling average of daily new cases in Oklahoma has risen over the past two weeks from 2,536.29 new cases per day on Dec. 30 to 4,255.86 new cases per day on Jan. 13, the data shows. The state’s 7-day rolling average of daily deaths and positivity rate also has increased during the same time period.

The health department also reported nearly 100,000 vaccine doses have been administered so far.