Health official: Oklahoma virus case count is accurate

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma State Department of Health’s reporting of new coronavirus cases in recent days is accurate, health commissioner Dr. Lance Frye said Thursday, a day after voicing concern that the count may have been under-reported this week.

Frye told legislators Wednesday that a potential glitch in the department’s reporting system may have led to fewer than 2,000 newly confirmed cases daily this week after topping 3,100 per day during six of the previous seven days, the Oklahoman reported.

“The COVID-19 case numbers have been significantly lower this week, which prompted us to investigate their validity as well as our reporting systems,” Frye said. “After checking with staff and comparing different sources of information, we can report the data is accurate and our case count has been significantly down this week.”

The health department reported 2,686 new cases and 55 more deaths Thursday for totals of 363,046 cases and 3,140 deaths since the pandemic began.

Oklahoma had the fourth highest rate of new cases per capita on Thursday at 1,237.28 per 100,000 population according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The rolling average of new cases declined during the past two weeks from 3,506.14 per day to 2,713.71.