Hi, former public health professional here. A thread to clarify a few things for my fellow Oklahomans:

1. If you have symptoms, such as body aches, you’re not asymptomatic. The presence of symptoms is the very definition of “symptomatic.”
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2. Keeping a distance of six feet is very helpful but NOT a guarantee that you’re not spreading (or contracting) the virus. This is particularly true if you’re indoors and unmasked.
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3. If you tested positive yesterday and your family members tested negative, that does NOT mean they will stay negative. They may been infected after their test, or they could be in the window period after infection. Everyone should quarantine for 14 days and then re-test.
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4. Oklahoma’s curve is NOT flat at this time. Obviously. We have more capacity than we did in March, yes, but we shouldn’t be okay letting cases skyrocket and forcing us to use that capacity. You don’t want to spend down your savings account.
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5. Wearing a mask is like 98% about protecting other people and 2% about protecting yourself. We’ve gotta understand and embrace that. Love thy neighbor and let’s make masks the new “Oklahoma Standard.”
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6. Wearing masks, coupled with broad testing and contracting can ABSOLUTELY suppress the spread of the virus. New Zealand did it. Most of Europe has done it. And NOW they can reopen safely. My fellow Oklahomans, I’m here to tel you, we can do it, too.
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7. Allowing the virus to spread and cases to increase also means that deaths will increase. But they don’t have to.

May our legacy not be defined by our complacency, but by how hard we fought to keep one another safe and prevent the unnecessary loss of life.
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With all that said, I wish the Governor and the other 1.074 new cases reported today - and the thousands more who are still recovering - a swift return to health.