Oklahoma’s coronavirus trends continue to climb in the national rankings.
For several months, the White House Coronavirus Task Force has issued state-level data and recommendations to governors. In this week’s update, the task force ranked Oklahoma 5th in the nation for its new cases per 100,000 people and for its positivity rate.
READ THE REPORT HERE
Across the nation, the U.S. is seeing an average of 74 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people each day. Oklahoma’s rate is nearly twice that high, at 142 cases per 100,000.
The task force has again recommended a statewide mask mandate, which Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has continually rebuffed. The report pointed to neighboring Arkansas as a "great example in the Heartland where statewide transmission has decreased through mask usage."
The report also recommends weekly surveillance for K-12 teachers, nursing home and assisted living staff, prison staff and first responders. It also says, "COVID-19 is being brought into nursing homes through community transmission."
House Democrats recently called for Stitt to require prison employees be tested for the virus, but Department of Corrections Director Scott Crow says it isn’t legal to require testing. There have been a recent string of outbreaks inside Oklahoma's prisons. As of Wednesday, a total of 595 Oklahoma prisoners had COVID and 13 were hospitalized.
For universities, the task force recommends wastewater surveillance to "identify areas with high viral load for targeted testing." The University of Arizona believes they recently stopped a potential outbreak by testing wastewater from dorms.
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