KOSU News

The Oklahoma State Department of Health is authorizing the following facilities to restrict visitation as they deem necessary to protect against the spread of COVID-19. 

• Nursing facilities
• Assisted living centers
• Residential care facilities
• Adult day care centers
• Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities
• Hospitals
• Other medical facilities or congregate living settings which house or serve vulnerable populations
• City and county detention facilities.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has announced the first presumptive case of COVID-19 in Oklahoma County. The patient is a woman in her 60s who recently traveled to Florida. She is in isolation at home, and public health officials are doing an investigation to find people she was recently in contact with. However, they note that this case is unrelated to other cases reported in the state and is not a sign of community spread.

Oklahoma's price gouging statute, or the Emergency Price Stablization Act, is in effect following President Donald Trump's emergency delaration of COVID-19. 

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter announced the statute, which automatically triggers after a state or federal emergency is issued,  prohibits an increase of more than 10% for the price of goods or services. 

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden will be temporarily closed, effective Saturday, March 14, to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Zoo tentatively plans to reopen to the public on Monday, March 23.

OKC Zoo day camps scheduled for Spring Break between Monday, March 16 and Friday, March 20, and the Zoo’s preschool program, Nature Explorers, will also be cancelled. Registered participants will receive complete refunds.

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The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is canceling all visitation and all volunteer access to facilities effective at 6 p.m. today. This decision was made to keep staff, inmates and volunteers safe from the spread of COVID-19 inside the facilities.

DOC says they are taking several proactive preventative steps, including screening all new inmate arrivals for symptoms of COVID-19 and suspending all inmate security movements, with exceptions made on a case-by-case basis.

More businesses in Oklahoma are canceling public events due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

The first person to test positive for the coronavirus in Oklahoma has recovered.

According to the Tulsa Health Department, the man in his 50s who had recently returned from a visit to Italy has had two negative tests – an indicator of recovery.

Two other Oklahomans have tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 since the first confirmed case was announced last week.

State officials are urging people to stay away from sick patients, frequently wash your hands and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

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County health departments do not have the ability to test for COVID-19 according to a statement released Thursday by the Oklahoma Health Department. In an earlier press conference, Gary Cox, director of the the Oklahoma Health Department said the state only has the ability to test 100 people per day.

Oklahoma's health agency issued the following advice if people suspect they have the virus: