Gov. Kevin Stitt said, “This is a personal responsibility, and I don’t believe that we can arrest people [who violate executive orders].” However, the Governor’s comment directly contradicts that of Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum.
There are now 429 confirmed cases in 44 of the state’s 77 counties and 16 deaths in seven separate counties, according to the health department.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted Wednesday to close public schools statewide for the remainder of the school year and to turn to distance learning in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has now infected 164 Oklahomans.
“We need all Oklahomans to take this really, really seriously,” Stitt said. “If we take no measures at all, the cases will outstrip the capacity in our health care system.”
If the state continues with its current loose “social distancing” measures up to 70 percent of all Oklahomans are at risk for infection, hospitals would be overrun within a month and tens of thousands could lose their lives by summer.
Now as the new virus upends life across the nation, officials are reconsidering remote learning as the probability of closing schools beyond April 6 looms.
Now is not the time for a statewide shelter in place order in Oklahoma due to the coronavirus, Gov. Kevin Stitt said as the number of people in the state confirmed with the virus now stands at 81.
