Oklahoma's COVID-19 Maps: What You Need To Know

Local, state and federal leaders have been using different maps to monitor the spread of COVID-19 across Oklahoma.

But the number of maps and how detailed they are can cause confusion about the situation.

Medical professionals across the state say the state has seen a doubling of cases in the last two months. They say it's expected to double again by December 15th.

The latest White House Task Force report shows all but one county in Oklahoma's panhandle as the darkest two shades of red.

Image Provided By: White House

They say there is aggressive, rapid, and expanding community spread across the country.

OU College of Public Health Epidemiologist Aaron Wendelboe says the trend isn't a surprise.

"As most of you know, our numbers have been on a steep trajectory over the past few months. But people may not know, COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in the United States, right behind heart disease and cancer," Wendelboe said.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health uses their own system to track cases and hospitalizations.

This COVID-19 Alert System map has four-tiers, based on the number of cases per 100,000 people. Their latest map shows every county in the orange, which is second to highest tier.

Image Provided By: OSDH

The state also tracks the number of hospitalizations in different regions of the state. They show about 1,500 people in hospitals across the state.

Image Provided By: OSDH

State leaders are also monitoring the percent of hospital beds being used for COVID-19 patients in each region. Each of those regions are in the orange tier.

Wendelboe says they're expecting the situation to get worse moving forward.

"We had as many cases in the last month and a half as we did during the six first months of the pandemic. In addition, we've seen a 60 percent increase in deaths and a 164 percent increase in hospitalizations in the same period," Wendelboe said.

For more information on COVID-19 in Oklahoma, see the links below:

Oklahoma State Department of Health's weekly epidemiology and surveillance report

Oklahoma State Department of Health's COVID-19 Alert System

Oklahoma State Department of Health's Executive Order Reports