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Coronavirus Updates: Infections Could Be Higher, Abortion Lawsuit & Record Unemployment Filing

An infectious disease expert says 5,000 Oklahomans might have COVID-19.

While officials have the number of positive cases at 481, Dr. Douglas Drevets with OU Medicine says the numbers could be far higher. He says the numbers from the State Health Department don’t reflect actual infections because of a lack of sufficient testing and many with the virus have mild or no symptoms.

Dr. Drevets estimates under current conditions the state is only identifying one out of every ten Oklahomans with the disease.

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Mathis Brothers is providing masks to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus. The Oklahoma City company’s mattress factory is producing more than one thousand face masks a day and has already made an initial donation to OU Medicine.

The hospitals plan to give the donated masks to visitors and patients so direct-care providers can continue using existing supplies of personal protective equipment. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will also wear the new face masks over their N95 masks for additional protection.

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Abortion rights groups are suing Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt over his executive order to stop the procedure. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order on Stitt’s call to include abortions in his suspension of elective surgeries and minor medical procedures.

The groups argue delaying the procedure means most women would be unable to access any form of abortion in the State of Oklahoma. The suit says the order bans nearly all pre-viability abortion in violation of constitutional rights.

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About 45,000 Oklahomans filed for unemployment last week. The unofficial numbers come from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission through claims filed online and over the phone to the agency.

The OESC reported last Thursday more than 17,000 had filed for unemployment in the previous week, which at the time was a record increase going back nearly 30 years. If the numbers hold with the official release on Thursday, it could mean another record in weekly unemployment claims for the state.

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Michael Cross is the host of KOSU's Morning Edition.
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