January 20, 2021
A story from KOCO TV in Oklahoma City Monday was headlined “Data shows significant spread of Covid-19 in rural Oklahoma counties.” Using an analysis by Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health, the article states “hot spots can be seen in counties like Roger Mills, Adair, Love and Alfalfa, with developing hot spots in south-central Oklahoma.”
The analysis compares the per capita number of cases around the state. The Center for Rural Health says there have been 90 deaths per 100,000 people in in rural areas this month compared to 71 in urban areas.
Oklahoma’s number of positive cases has dropped in the past couple of days with 36,136 active cases as of Tuesday, Jan. 19, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). Alfalfa County has 71 active cases and five deaths as of Tuesday. The county had a population of 5,642 in 2020. Meanwhile, Woods County with a population of 8,563 has 63 active cases and a total of five deaths.
Paul Monies / Oklahoma Watch
As active coronavirus cases remain above 30,000 in Oklahoma, the state health department says its contact tracers are having to prioritize calls and will advise most people with confirmed cases to do their own contact tracing.
In addition, the state has shuttered a contact tracing call center in Oklahoma City paid for by federal CARES Act money. A related contract for additional temporary contact tracers continues but the Oklahoma State Department of Health is looking for additional funding to keep those positions in the new year. Weekly reports from this fall show just how far behind contact tracers and case investigators were getting as cases continued to rise.
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