Gov. Kevin Stitt appeared on Fox News over the weekend and defended his decision not to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order.
Stitt said his orders telling the elderly and those with compromised immune systems to stay home, prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people, and closing nonessential businesses are sufficient.
Stitt told "America's News HQ" host Leland Vittert Oklahomans are taking personal responsibility by following social distancing guidelines.
"And we’re seeing the outcomes in Oklahoma. We’re flattening the curve, but we make decisions in Oklahoma based on our data and not on what the’s happening in other parts … of the country," Stitt said.
He was then asked how he might go about reopening Oklahoma.
"You first start with elective surgeries that would come back, and then you start with certain counties where restaurants would go to maybe 50% capacity and you continue the social distancing," Stitt said.
There have been strong calls for Stitt to issue a shelter in place order. Most recently, leaders of 26 tribal nations sent Stitt a letter asking for one.
Arkansas is the only state bordering Oklahoma without a statewide stay-at-home order. Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa are the other states without one.
