BREAKING: Dr. Dart @TulsaHealthDept says last week they had 29.46% positive rate among the tests done by the Tulsa Health Department.
Live coverage now @FOX23 and you can watch on the stream here
#Oklahoma #COVID19 https://www.fox23.com/video/live-stream/

"The system is strained."
Dr. Damon Baker says Region 7 (Tulsa) will soon be in Tier 3 of the state's hospital surge plan. 19.4% of hospitalized patients are #coronavirus patients. He says as of 9am this morning Tulsa had 340 people in acute care facilities.
#Oklahoma #COVID19

Tulsa Mayor @gtbynum "Take it easy for the next 10 days. Let's get through the month of November and minimize the number of people we come into contact with."
#Oklahoma #coronavirus

Mayor Bynum says his family has been here since the 1870's and they're Catholic "so there's lots of us." Bynum says normally they have more than 100 at Thanksgiving. This year he says it will be him, his wife and their 2 children at their home.
#Oklahoma #COVID19

Bynum encourages all of us to follow the orders the governor issued this week and says it's notable these are the first restrictions Gov. Stitt has made since May and shows the severity of case spread that we are seeing restrictions.

Mayor Bynum says now referring to the pictures that have gone viral of a packed concert at a Tulsa church.
Bynum says city council is having a special meeting next week and he expects they will have ordinances for the council review to take action to help stop huge gatherings.

Dr. Dart says you have the ability to be re-infected with #COVID19 after 4-6 months so if you had #coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic, you could get it again.
#Tulsa #Oklahoma #pandemic

Reporter asks Dr. Dart about Tulsa still having large events like BMX event and Winterfest. Dr. Dart says they are continuing to review the data and if they feel they should NOT have the event or not continue them, they will make changes.
#COVID19 #Oklahoma

"We are NOT CONTEMPLATING a shutdown in Tulsa."
Mayor Bynum says they are re-evaluating restrictions on large gatherings but says one challenge is that some events will just go across the street where there are no restrictions and hold them there.
#COVID19 #Oklahoma

So, we are awaiting media availability from Governor Stitt and Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye.
@FOX23 @jsdelpilar is there in person because unfortunately we were told it was not possible to have a Zoom link so reporters could ask questions if they are not there in person

I made requests via a phone call to @GovStitt media contact to ask for them to please provide us a Zoom link to ask questions so we did not have to attend in person due to exploding #COVID19 case rates and was told it probably would not happen. I also sent an email (MORE)

to @HealthyOklahoma and @GovStitt staff and the PR firm our state hired to field media questions during the pandemic, I again asked for them to please provide us a Zoom link so reporters across the state could ask questions virtually. That email sent at 12:59pm is unanswered.

As a reminder, yesterday's White House #COVID19 Task Force report said we should not be meeting with anyone outside of our own home due to "unyielding" spread of #coronavirus in our state.
#Oklahoma

Governor Stitt says we had seen things be "flat" for a while but now we're seeing things increase.
For some context, Oklahoma COVID19 rates have been increasing since July.
#coronavirus

As an aside, Harvard Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina says states need to take action now. He wrote an article for @TIME magazine lining out a plan using massive rapid testing.
His advice for Oklahoma and other states in my report @FOX23 News at 5pm. https://twitter.com/michaelmina_lab/status/1328873625894719489?s=20

Back at the Governor Stitt and Dr. Frye presser, Governor Stitt says he will attend Bedlam football game this weekend in Norman and will be having Thanksgiving with his family and parents next week, reminds Oklahomans to act cautiously but enjoy each other.
#Oklahoma #COVID19

Governor Stitt says they will always make the right decision at the right time with the data they have. He says he feels good about the decisions they've made so far.
Stitt says 50% of the state is under a mask mandate. He says they've told cities its their decision and they

will support them either way.
Stitt says our #Covid_19 death rates are going down.
He says he's very concerned about the mental health problems and "other consequences" happening with this virus.
Stitt's Chief of Communications says that's all the time for questions. (MORE)

Dr. Frye & Governor Stitt answered questions about hospitalizations, schools returning students to in-person classes, why Governor Stitt says no statewide mask mandate and many other topics.
You can watch all of it here. I'll see you on Fox23 at 5pm https://fb.watch/1SHBzPm0Qn/ 

Thank you @GovStitt & Commissioner Dr. Frye @HealthyOklahoma for allowing journalists time today to ask you questions and get information to share with our viewers. PLEASE can we get Zoom line for Oklahoma journalists to ask questions virtually to help stop spread and stay safe?

Tonight-1,428 Oklahomans in the hospital & of those, 421 in ICU. The White House Task Force says we shouldn't be meeting with people who don't live in our home. So, we would really appreciate Zoom line for journalists to ask questions. Many governors are already doing so. TY!