Local & Regional

Cherokee Nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is drawing praise from public health experts and attention in the national media.

A recent feature story in STAT, a news outlet focused on health and medicine, quotes Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, as calling the tribe's pandemic response "very impressive."

Three bars and four bar employees are suing Oklahoma City over Mayor David Holt’s proclamation that in-person service at bars must end at 11 p.m.

The lawsuit alleges Holt overstepped his legal authority and improperly cited the city’s Riot Control and Prevention Act when he declared a public disaster and issued the proclamation this month.

“The plain and unambiguous language of the RCPA makes clear that its intent is to control and prevent riots—not to contain the spread of pandemics,” according to the lawsuit.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma health officials reported 1,721 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Sunday, and 19 more deaths linked to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health said the new counts bring the state to a total of 195,545 case of the virus and 1,736 fatalities.

The actual number of cases is believed to be far higher because many people haven’t been tested and some who get the disease don’t show symptoms.

Another round of cost-cutting is underway on the Gateway Bridge, the Arkansas River pedestrian bridge set to be Tulsa’s newest landmark.

Tulsa’s Gathering Place LLC Director and Trustee Jeff Stava is overseeing the project. He told the Sales Tax Overview Committee last week that within a few weeks of the last round of bid openings in late September, two companies backed out, pushing up the total cost $5 million and setting the bridge to come in $4.6 million to $7.1 million over its $27.4 million dollar budget.

The Tulsa City Council convenes next Monday for its inauguration, where all nine councilors will be sworn in.

Afterward, the council will hold a special meeting to elect the chair and vice-chair. Despite the worsening pandemic, that will all happen in the city council chambers.

Councilor Lori Decter Wright said they don’t have much choice.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Wednesday 3,732 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 184,342.

Tulsa County had 416 of Wednesday's new cases. Its total now stands at 31,333, second to Oklahoma County's 37,441.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, jumped from 3,172 to 3,274, its third straight new record and seventh in the past eight days. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.

Physicians, nurses and health care groups in Oklahoma are expressing concern over the state department of health's recent guidance to allow health care workers infected with COVID-19 but asymptomatic to remain on the job rather than quarantine.

"To me, that seems like the most insane thing," said Dr. Scott Michener, chief medical officer at Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton, on a videoconference with reporters organized by the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition on Tuesday.

The leader of the Oklahoma National Guard is imploring citizens to take proper COVID-19 precautions amid rapidly worsening trends in the state's pandemic trajectory.

"In the last three weeks in Oklahoma, we have had over 57,000 cases of COVID-19. Of that number, over 1,500 people have been hospitalized," says Adjutant General Michael Thompson in a new public service announcement. 

Saturday's game between No. 24 Tulsa and the University of Houston has been postponed.

The American Athletic Conference announced late Tuesday that positive tests among Houston and contact tracing of student-athletes were behind the postponement.

The game may be rescheduled for Dec. 19 if neither team is a participant in the conference championship game.

The sixth time was the charm for the Muskogee City Council to pass a mandatory mask ordinance to combat the dramatic rise in COVID-19 infections. After five failed votes in recent weeks, the measure passed Monday night 5-3. 

The vote came the same day that Muskogee County declared a state of emergency due to a sharp increase in coronavirus infections and the possibility of overwhelming the already strained hospital system even further.

Golden Hurricane basketball teams will play in an empty Reynolds Center to start their seasons.

The University of Tulsa Athletics Department announced on Tuesday fans will not be allowed at home games through Dec. 19. In a news release, the university said the decision was made in order to protect the health of students, staff and fans.

The men's team plays four home games during that span: Dec. 4 against UT Arlington, Dec. 8 against Arkansas, Dec. 15 against Wichita State and Dec. 18 against Northwestern State.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Tuesday 2,736 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 180,610.

Tulsa County had 417 of Tuesday's new cases. Its total now stands at 30,917, second to Oklahoma County's 36,880.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, jumped from 3,002 to 3,172, its second straight new record and sixth in the past seven days. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.

The Broken Arrow City Council on Monday voted against passage of a resolution that would have strongly encouraged the use of masks and other measures to lower community transmission of COVID-19.

The vote failed 1-4, with only Councilor Johnnie Parks voting in favor.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Monday 3,544 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to 177,874. 

Tulsa County had 509 of Monday's new cases. Its total now stands at 30,500. Tulsa County is the second in the state to break 30,000 total COVID cases, and its total is second to Oklahoma County's 36,199.

The state's seven-day average of new cases, which shows the trend in infections, rose from 2,886 to 3,002, its fifth new record in the past six days. Oct. 5 was the last time the seven-day average was below 1,000.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The number of reported cases of the coronavirus increased by 3,406 and the number of deaths from the virus increased by 10, the Oklahoma State Department of Health reported on Sunday.

The department reported 1,505 hospitalizations Friday, topping the previous one-day high of 1,434 on Wednesday.

There were a total of 174,330 reported cases since the start of the pandemic and the seven-day rolling average of new cases in the state has nearly doubled from 1,465 per day on Nov. 6 to 2,843 as of Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. is urging citizens to follow federal recommendations and avoid gathering for Thanksgiving amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

"Our ICU beds at Hastings Hospital are staying full as we see and help more of our citizens hospitalized by this virus," Hoskin said. "The best thing we can do is stay in this holiday, and if you're around other people, wearing a mask is critical."

Hoskin said the tribe's public health team is seeing positive test rates three times higher than in recent weeks. 

The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on Oklahoma’s child welfare system.

The pandemic initially diverted the Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ attention from improvements needed to help kids in foster care with multiple needs, like health and behavioral issues. There was a need for the agency to suddenly shift social workers to telework and scale back in-person visits.

Updated Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.  

Tulsa Public Schools students at McLain and Memorial would be the first to have access to a new early college high school program launching next year.

When students graduate high school, they’ll have also earned an associate’s degree from Tulsa Community College if they successfully complete coursework. District officials expect about 30 students total to start.

The program is pending TPS Board approval.