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As you previously heard here, the State of Oklahoma is announcing a new methodolgy for counting COVID-19 cases as requested by Johns Hopkins University. 

 

Senator Julie Davis tells Bartleville Radio she understands what is being requested but, at the same time, wants to see the dashboard data shown separately for lab tested cases and rapid test cases so as not to unnecessarily frighten citizens. 

 

Daniels warns that there is consideration underway of possbily adding these so-called "probable cases" to the beginning of  history of the pandemic in Oklahoma.

 

 

Press Briefing with Dr. Frye, Commissioner of Health

Update in Testing & Reporting of COVID-19 Cases in Oklahoma

 

Accurately Reporting Covid-19 Positive Cases

• To date, the State of Oklahoma has followed the CDC guidelines to define a “confirmed” COVID-19 positive case as individuals diagnosed via a PCR test. Positive results achieved through antigen testing have been categorized as “probable” and not included in the daily case count, as shown in Executive Order reports, dashboard, and other public releases.
• Science continues to evolve, and the accuracy and confidence in various methods of COVID-19 testing have improved.
• As a result, the White House has directed the deployment of additional resources to administer antigen - also known as rapid - tests. This includes the White House’s recent decision to begin deploying antigen machines and testing kits to Oklahoma nursing homes throughout the month of September.
• The White House’s action, coupled with increased demand, has prompted Oklahoma to begin reporting positive COVID-19 cases from both the antigen and PCR tests in its daily public reporting.
• Categorizing positive antigen test results as cases is a practice also implemented in other states such as Arizona and Idaho. This will advance OSDH’s mission to deliver public data that best represents the current, active presence of COVID-19 in Oklahoma.
• Since the beginning of the pandemic, OSDH has always treated probable and confirmed cases the same when it comes to investigation, recommendations for quarantine and contract tracing.
• The inclusion of antigen tests in OSDH’s daily reporting of new positive cases will be reflected on our website beginning on September 8.  

Improving Data Delivery and Reporting – enhancing data system to improve functionality and reliability

• Our goal is to ensure case reporting remains accurate and readily available. To meet that goal, we are changing how we report our cases in Oklahoma and bringing on a new platform to enhance our data system.
• The MTX Disease Monitoring and Control platform will integrate lab testing and results, reducing the time between positive lab results and contact investigation.
• This will allow Oklahoma to access real-time insights for disease outbreak monitoring, identify potential disease outbreaks and guide how we allocate resources to help those who are in our highest-risk, highest-need communities.
• Phase I of this process started August 28 and rollout will continue in the coming months.

Modernizing Our Data Dashboard

• Data reporting and transparency have been and continue to be a top priority for OSDH.
• As such, in addition to an update in our data management system and case reporting, we will simultaneously modernize our data dashboard to ensure clarity, transparency and improve user experience.
• Those updates will include increased functionality on the dashboard, the addition of healthcare capacity measures and increased transparency and comparability surrounding COVID-positive cases and percent positivity.
• The new and improved dashboard will go live September 8.