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Tulsa County New COVID-19 Infections Could Peak Within the Next Week

Tulsa Health Department COVID-19 models are projecting a lower number of infections and deaths as more area residents limit their movement.

Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dart said current worst-case projections are up to 176,000 total infections and 2,100 deaths by August.

"We project the peak of new infections to happen within the next week. This will be a crucial time for staying home and limiting social contact," Dart said.

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said he will not start to phase out restrictions like his safer at home order until after it appears area hospitals can handle all the new cases that will continue to come in.

"We should not expect to see that peak load on our hospital system until early May, the beginning of May. And that’s what we’ve been doing all this social distancing for, is to prepare for that event," Bynum said.

Bynum, Dart, Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith and American Sign Language interpreter Glenna Cooper adhered to those social distancing guidelines on Friday. Their news conference was held on the videoconferencing platform Zoom and broadcast on YouTube, with each of them in a different location.

Dart urged people to celebrate the holiday weekend at home and gather with family virtually.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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