OU Health: Actual Active COVID-19 Cases Could Be Higher Than Reported

The State Health Department said about 24,000 COVID-19 cases are active right now. OU's Chief COVID-19 officer said that number is likely even higher.

Dr. Dale Bratzler said the number of active COVID-19 cases statewide could actually be four to five times that number.

Bratzler said not everybody gets tested and some people are asymptomatic, so that means your chance of encountering someone with COVID-19 is higher right now.

On Friday, the state reported the second highest number of COVID-19 cases so far.

And Bratzler said this surge is putting a strain on the hospital system that is already seeing a record number of patients.

OU's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cameron Mantor said hospitals statewide are monitoring capacity and needs hour-by-hour.

And he said hospitals may be overwhelmed at some point, if people do not take precautions.

"If we continue to see the rise of positive patients and the need for hospital admissions that we've been seeing over the past number of weeks, we will be in a spot where we either can't take care of a COVID patient, or we can't take care of a patient with heart disease, or a level 1 trauma patient, or someone with a newly diagnosed cancer," said Mantor.

Tulsa is currently in Tier 2 of the hospital surge plan. Oklahoma City is in Tier 3.