© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Trump Says White House Coronavirus Task Force Doctor To Visit Oklahoma

Twitter / @WhiteHouse
Dr. Deborah Birx (seated, right) at the White House with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (left) and President Donald Trump on Aug. 5th, 2020.

President Donald Trump announced that Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House's coronavirus task force, will visit Oklahoma next week on a tour of states "to deliver aggressive, tailored and targeted guidance."

The visit comes as Okla. Gov. Kevin Stitt is under scrutiny for declining to implement the task force's recommendations to combat the coronavirus.

The White House considers Oklahoma to be a "red zone" state, the worst classification on their chart, and says the state should take much stronger measures to combat the virus outbreak, including closing all bars.

In a statement about the White House recommendations, and in response to remarks by Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum that he was "concerned" the governor had not shared the White House report with local officials, Baylee Lakey, the governor's communications director, told Public Radio Tulsa that "the White House confirmed that these are not mandates and that the State is not out of compliance with any federal orders."

Details about Birx's visit have not yet been released. 

Chris joined Public Radio Tulsa as a news anchor and reporter in April 2020. He’s a graduate of Hunter College and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, both at the City University of New York.
Related Content