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After Record-Shattering Saturday, State Releases No Sunday COVID Numbers

Youtube / Gov. Kevin Stitt
Oklahoma State Department of Health Commissioner Lance Frye (at lectern) and American Sign Language interpreter Jimmy Mitchell at the state's last COVID-19 press briefing, on Oct. 20 in Oklahoma City.

Following a new daily COVID-19 case count on Saturday that more than doubled the previous record, the Oklahoma State Department of Health announced that it would be skipping its daily update for Sunday "to catch up and ensure duplications are removed."

The new statewide infection total released Saturday, 4,741 Oklahomans confirmed to have contracted the disease, eclipsed the previous record of 2,101 set Thursday. On Sunday, the state said it had removed duplicates and adjusted the number; the revised total was reduced slightly, to 4,507.

"We have no reason to believe our revised number is an anomaly, but instead shows community spread is occurring," said OSDH Commissioner Lance Frye in a statement. "We continue to urge all Oklahomans to take this highly-contagious virus seriously and act immediately to avoid large gatherings, wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance to others."

In a statement Saturday, Frye said the state would consider taking additional mitigation efforts should trends continue to climb. Gov. Kevin Stitt in a separate Saturday statement made no mention of taking any additional actions to address the soaring infections, instead simply calling on Oklahomans to voluntarily follow public health guidelines.

Stitt and Frye have not held a press briefing or update on the pandemic since Oct. 20.

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.
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