Officials: 15 people with COVID-19 in Oklahoma have died

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Customer Don McCombs, left, gestures to cashier Ialeah Johnson, right, through a plexiglass shield at a Homeland grocery store Friday, March 27, 2020, in Oklahoma City. Homeland and other stores have installed the shields due to concerns over the COVID-19 virus. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Published 03/28/2020 | Reading Time 1 min 29 sec

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Fifteen people in Oklahoma with coronavirus have died, state health officials said Saturday.

The Oklahoma Department of Health says the number of deaths increased from eight the day earlier. Officials said that of the newly reported deaths, there were two in Cleveland County, two in Tulsa County and one each in Oklahoma, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties. The woman who died in Sequoyah County was between the ages of 50 to 64, while the others were over 65.

There are at least 377 cases of people with COVID-19 in Oklahoma.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole said Saturday that the doctor-recommended self-quarantine he entered after being around a fellow congressman who tested positive for COVID-19 had ended. Cole said he never had any coronavirus symptoms.

Cole, a Republican from Moore, said March 19 that he would self-quarantine after being around Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart the week earlier.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.