As of December 22, 2022, Oklahoma has been impacted more by Covid than the average U.S. state. Statistics for the U.S. as a whole are 331 deaths per 100,000 population with 68 percent of the population fully vaccinated. The comparable statistics for Oklahoma are 405 deaths per 100,000 population with 59 percent of the population fully vaccinated. 16,041 deaths from Covid have been recorded in Oklahoma. A wide variation in deaths from Covid exists between counties in Oklahoma. Greer County recorded a death rate of .00753 (753 deaths per 100,000 residents). Payne County recorded a death rate of only .00231 (231 deaths per 100,000 residents.
The first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. state of Oklahoma was reported on March 7, 2020, with the first confirmed COVID-19 death occurring on March 18. For the 7 days ending May 19, 2021, Oklahoma public health authorities reported 965 new cases of COVID-19, for a cumulative total of 451,280 cases since the start of the pandemic. The state's death toll increased to 6,918 with 40 deaths reported over the previous 7 days.
As of May 10, 2023, the last published update, Oklahoma has administered 6,773,461 COVID-19 vaccine doses, equivalent to 61% of the state's population.
Timeline
March 2020
On March 7, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Oklahoma in a patient who had returned from Italy on February 23 and began showing symptoms on February 29.
On March 13, there were 4 cases in Oklahoma, including the first case in Oklahoma City, a woman in her 60s who recently returned from Florida.
On March 15, the number of cases grew to 7, an increase of 75% from March 13. The three new cases were in Cleveland, Payne, and Tulsa counties. The age range of patients was 20 to 69. Governor Stitt held a press conference to announce executive orders.
On March 16, there were 10 cases, an increase of 43% from the previous day. The first case of known community spread was reported on this day. and a few hours later Governor Stitt declared a State of emergency.
On March 17, there were 17 cases. This was an increase of 70% over the previous day.
On March 18, there were 29 cases, an increase of 71% from the previous day's total. In addition, the first COVID-19 patient died of the disease in Tulsa. He was a man in his 50s who had been admitted the day before. Testing capabilities remain limited in Oklahoma.
On March 19, there were 44 cases, an increase of 51% over the previous day.
On March 20, there were 49 cases, an increase of 11%. The majority of the cases were in two counties: Oklahoma (19 cases) and Cleveland (11) Counties.
On March 21, there were 53 cases (an increase of 8%) according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). The U.S. Small Business Administration approved the State of Oklahoma's request for disaster loans for small businesses that are and will be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 22, there were 67 cases, an increase of 26% from the day before. In addition, a second patient died. So far, there were no recoveries.
On March 23, there were 81 cases in Oklahoma, an increase of 21% from the previous day. Thirty-six of the 81 cases were in the 18–49 age group, making it the age group with the highest percentage of cases at 44%.
On March 24, the number of cases increased to 106, a jump of 26 additional cases from the day before or 31%. A third person died; she was a woman in her 60s and died in Cleveland County.
On March 25, there were 164 cases of COVID-19 in Oklahoma, an increase of 50 cases in a single day or 55%. The age group with the largest number was 65+ with 55 cases. New counties with cases include Adair, Bryan, Carter, Creek, Delaware, Osage, Pottawatomie and Stephens. In addition, two more people died: a man in his 70s and another in his 40s. Both were from Oklahoma County. The OSDH introduced a testing site in Pittsburgh County with 100 testing kits, and another in Kay County with limited testing supplies.
On March 26, there were 248 cases, an increase of 84 in one day and the highest so far, or an increase of 51%. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported cases in six more counties: Comanche, Craig, Lincoln, Okmulgee, Ottawa and Sequoyah.
On March 27, there were 322 cases, an increase of 74 or 30%. The death toll climbed to 8 as a male in his 70s in Creek County died. As of this date, there were drive-thru testing sites in four counties: Oklahoma, Tulsa, Kay, and Pittsburg.
On March 28, there were 377 cases, an increase of 55 or 17% more than the day before. There were 7 deaths, bringing the total to 15, an increase of 87%. Six of the victims were over 65 and one was in the 50–64 age group. The virus spread to Le Flore and Nowata counties. The OSDH announced that the University of Oklahoma would have the ability to run 2,800 COVID-19 tests a day.
On March 29, the total number of cases rose to 429, an increase of 14%. There was an additional death: a man aged 50–64 in Oklahoma County, bringing the total number of deaths to 16. The virus also spread to Garfield, Rogers, Seminole and Texas counties.
On March 30, there were 481 confirmed positive cases in Oklahoma, an increase of 12%. Cases had spread to Beckham, Cotton and Love Counties. The death toll rose to 17 with the death of a man in Cleveland County; he was in the 50–64 age group. By the end of the day, the state had received over 60% of its personal protective equipment order from the federal government's Strategic National Stockpile.
On March 31, there were 565 cases of the virus in Oklahoma, an increase of 17%. Six more people died: 4 men older than 65 and a man and a woman in the 50–64 age group, bringing the total number of fatalities to 23. Currently, 31% (565 out of 1,796) of COVID-19 tests are positive. The OSDH reported that the state had ordered millions of dollars of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from private suppliers and was expecting larger quantities of PPE, including N95 masks, in the next week.
April 2020
On April 1, the number of cases grew to 719, an increase of 27%. Greer County was added to the list of counties with COVID-19 cases. Seven people died of COVID-19: 3 in Oklahoma County and 1 each in Greer, Kay, Mays, and Osage, bringing the death toll to 30. No recoveries have been reported. Thirty-seven percent of tests given have resulted in positive results. There are now enough supplies for 13,000 tests, so the commissioner of health Gary Cox and the governor urged health care providers and testing centers to offer tests to any person with symptoms of COVID-19.
On April 2, there were 879 confirmed cases, an increase of 22%. There were four more deaths: a man in the 36–49 age group and 3 men in the 65-plus age group.
On April 3, the number of cases increased by 12% to 988. Four women over 65 died, bringing the total number of deaths to 38 or 3.8% of cases). There were drive-thru testing sites in 17 counties.
On April 4, cases increased by 17% to 1,159 and the number of deaths to 42. Of the 2,521 Oklahoma residents tested to date, 46% have tested positive. The Oklahoma State Department of Health announced that the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps was recruiting both medical and non-medical volunteers.
On April 5, there were 1,251 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 8%, the lowest percentile increase since March 21. Four more people over 65 died, bringing the total number of Oklahoma deaths due to COVID-19 to 46, or 3.7% of positive cases.
On April 6, cases increased to 1,327 and the number of deaths grew to 51. Jefferson County had its first confirmed case, and the first death from the disease in Pottawatomie occurred.
On April 7, cases increased to 1,472 and deaths increased to 67. The first deaths occurred in Adair and Cherokee counties, while the first cases of the virus were confirmed in Beaver, Dewey, and Marshall counties.
On April 8, the number of deaths grew to 79, with 1,524 total cases.
June 2020
On June 10, President Donald Trump announced he would hold a rally for his 2020 re-election campaign at the BOK Center in Tulsa on June 19 (later rescheduled to June 20 for sensitivity reasons due to Juneteenth), in his first public campaign event since the pandemic's U.S. activation in March. Concerns were raised that the rally could be a superspreader event; the Trump campaign stated that it would perform temperature checks and offer face masks and hand sanitizer to attendees, while attendees were required to waive the right to hold the Trump campaign liable for any exposure to COVID-19 that may occur at the rally.
On June 14, Oklahoma announced its largest single-day increase in cases, at 225. Tulsa County also reported its largest single-day increase since March.
On June 18, the Oklahoma State Department of Health reported that Oklahoma had reached 9,354 cases, an increase of 450, which broke the previous record day-to-day case increase of 259.
On June 20, 2020, Trump held a poorly attended political rally in Tulsa. Most rally attendees did not wear masks, including Herman Cain, a former presidential candidate and co-chair of Black Voices for Trump. In the aftermath of the rally several COVID-19 cases were reported among campaign staff and Secret Service agents. During the 30 day period immediately before the rally an average of 150 new COVID-19 cases were reported per day in Oklahoma. In the 30 day period after the rally the rate of new COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma more than tripled, to 513 cases per day. The rise was particularly severe in Tulsa County, where local public health officials believe the president's rally caused a spike of cases over the next few weeks. About a week after the rally, Herman Cain was diagnosed with COVID-19 and died from it on July 30.
Trump's June 20 rally hosted was estimated to have been attended by 6,200, in comparison to the arena's capacity of 19,000. Prior to the rally it was announced that six campaign staff members were infected with COVID-19, and in the week following the rally dozens of Secret Service members and campaign staff were forced to quarantine due to COVID-19 infections among their colleagues. On the date of the rally the 7-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma was 281 cases per day; by July 13 the 7-day moving average had more than doubled, to 626 new cases per day.
July 2020
On July 15, Governor Stitt became the first US state governor to test positive for COVID-19. Despite Governor Stitt not wearing a mask while attending Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Commissioner of Health Colonel Lance Frye said the rally was too long ago for it to be the cause of the infection and that it was unknown where the governor was infected.
The Oklahoma State Medical Association announced that 1,600 healthcare workers in the state were infected with COVID-19 since the month of February resulting in 6 deaths among the 1,600.
In the 30 day period after the Trump campaign rally the rate of new COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma more than tripled, to 513 cases per day. Rally attendee Herman Cain died of COVID-19 on July 30.
August 2020
On August 6, Governor Stitt announced that he had contracted COVID-19 after hugging some friends who were visiting from Tulsa.
By mid-August, the mask mandate in Oklahoma City had been in place over a month, and the seven-day averages in Oklahoma County had fallen "from 213 daily infections in mid-July to 136 daily infections by mid-August." According to Dr. David Kendrick, studies showed "the positivity rates are declining in cities that have a [masking] policy compared to the ones who don't." He added that "data showed huge spikes in infections following many gatherings, including a large bump in infection rates for 18-35 year-olds following Memorial Day."
On August 12, 4 staff members at Mid-Del Schools in Midwest City tested positive.
On August 13, 2020, students at Luther Public School District tested positive.
On August 14, 23 sorority sisters tested positive at Oklahoma State University--Stillwater, and their chapter house was quarantined. Konawa Public Schools sent students home at noon when a student tested positive.
On August 19, Coyle Public Schools switched to virtual learning after the district's superintendent tested positive.
On August 20, Oklahoma had a 7.9% infection rate, which had dropped from high of 13.5% in late July, but remained above the national average.
On August 21, 1,077 new cases were reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, and 6 new deaths. A total of 129 residents had tested positive at the Claremore Veterans Center, with 36 deaths since July 1. Two students and two teachers had tested positive at Grove Public Schools in Tulsa. A spokesperson for the Mayor of Tulsa said she was surprised to hear that the August 16 White House Coronavirus Task Force State Report for Oklahoma had not been shared with the city. Mayor Bynum said he was surprised to hear from Deborah Birx that "there had been eight or so of the weekly COVID-19 reports." Little Axe Public School District announced it would "move to virtual learning after several staff members began showing signs of COVID-19." An Edmond Public Schools student was quarantined after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19.