COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma

On March 7, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Oklahoma in a patient who was in his 50s. He had come back from Italy on February 23, and began showing symptoms on February 29.[4]

On March 11, Rudy Gobert, a center for the Utah Jazz of the NBA, was ill before a scheduled game between the Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City. He was taken to the hospital and tested positive for COVID-19. The game was postponed, and the NBA ultimately announced that the 2019–20 season would be suspended league-wide after the completion of that night's games.[5][6] The entire team and their staff were then tested, using up 58 of Oklahoma's allotted 100 tests for the day. Gobert's teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive. The players and staff returned to Utah and the two positive tests were not counted in Oklahoma COVID-19 statistics.[7]

On March 13, there were 4 cases in Oklahoma, including the first case in Oklahoma City, a woman in her 60s who recently returned from Florida.[8]

On March 14, Governor Kevin Stitt drew criticism for a Twitter post with a photo of him in a crowded restaurant, stating that he planned to continue to "take his family out to dinner" despite the pandemic. He later deleted the post.[9][10]

On March 15, the number of cases grew to 7, an increase of 75% from March 13. The three new cases were in Cleveland, Payne and Tulsa counties. The age range of patients was 20 to 69.[11] Governor Stitt held a press conference to announce executive orders.

On March 16, there were 10 cases, an increase of 43% from the previous day.[12] Governor Stitt declared a state of emergency.[10]

On March 17, there were 17 cases.[12] This was an increase of 70% over the previous day.

On March 18, there were 29 cases, an increase of 71% from the previous day's total.[13] In addition, the first COVID-19 patient died of the disease in Tulsa. He was a man in his 50s who had been admitted the day before. Testing capabilities remain limited in Oklahoma.[14]

On March 19, there were 44 cases, an increase of 51% over the previous day.[15]

On March 20, there were 49 cases, an increase of 11%. The majority of the cases were in two counties: Oklahoma (19 cases) and Cleveland (11) Counties.[16]

On March 21, there were 53 cases (an increase of 8%) according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. The U.S. Small Business Administration approved the State of Oklahoma's request for disaster loans for small businesses that are and will be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

On March 22, there were 67 cases, an increase of 26% from the day before. In addition, a second patient died. So far, there have been no recoveries.[18]

On March 23, there were 81 cases in Oklahoma, an increase of 21% from the previous day. Thirty-six of the 81 cases are in the 18–49 age group, making it the age group with the highest percentage of cases at 44%.[19]

On March 24, the number of cases increased to 106, a jump of 26 additional cases from the day before or 31%. A third person died; she was a woman in her 60s and died in Cleveland County.[20]

On March 25, there were 164 cases of COVID-19 in Oklahoma, an increase of 50 cases in a single day or 55%. The age group with the largest number is 65+ with 55 cases. New counties with cases include Adair, Bryan, Carter, Creek, Delaware, Osage, Pottawatomie and Stephens. In addition, two more people died: a man in his 70s and another in his 40s. Both were from Oklahoma County. The OSDH introduced a testing site in Pittsburgh County with 100 testing kits, and another in Kay County with limited testing supplies.[21]

On March 26, there were 248 cases, an increase of 84 in one day and the highest so far, or an increase of 51%. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported cases in six more counties: Comanche, Craig, Lincoln, Okmulgee, Ottawa and Sequoyah.[22]

On March 27, there were 322 cases, an increase of 74 or 30%. The death toll climbed to 8 as a male in his 70s in Creek County died.[23] As of this date, there were drive-thru testing sites in four counties: Oklahoma, Tulsa, Kay, and Pittsburg.[24]

On March 28, there were 377 cases, an increase of 55 or 17% more than the day before. However, there were 7 deaths, bringing the total to 15, an increase of 87%. Six of the victims were over 65 and one was in the 50–64 age group. The virus spread to Le Flore and Nowata counties. The Oklahoma State Department of Health announced that the University of Oklahoma would have the ability to run 2,800 COVID-19 tests a day.[25]

On March 29, the total number of cases rose to 429, an in increase of 14%. There was an additional death: a man aged 50–64 in Oklahoma County, bringing the total number of deaths to 16. The virus also spread to Garfield, Rogers, Seminole and Texas counties.[26]

On March 30, there were 481 confirmed positive cases in Oklahoma, an increase of 12%. Cases had spread to Beckham, Cotton and Love Counties. The death toll rose to 17 with the death of a man in Cleveland County; he was in the 50–64 age group.[27] By the end of the day, the state had received over 60% of its personal protective equipment order from the federal government's Strategic National Stockpile.[28]

On March 31, there were 565 cases of the virus in Oklahoma, an increase of 17%. Six more people died: 4 men older than 65 and a man and a woman in the 50–64 age group, bringing the total number of fatalities to 23. Currently, 31% (565 out of 1,796) of COVID-19 tests are positive. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported that the state had ordered millions of dollars of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from private suppliers and was expecting larger quantities of PPE, including N95 masks, in the next week.[28]

On April 1, the number of cases grew to 719, an increase of 27%. Greer County was added to the list of counties with COVID-19 cases. Seven people died of COVID-19: 3 in Oklahoma County and 1 each in Greer, Kay, Mays, and Osage, bringing the death toll to 30. No recoveries have been reported. Thirty-seven percent of tests given have resulted in positive results. There are now enough supplies for 13,000 tests, so the commissioner of health Gary Cox and the governor urged health care providers and testing centers to offer tests to any person with symptoms of COVID-19.[29]

On April 2, there were 879 confirmed cases, an increase of 22%. There were four more deaths: a man in the 36–49 age group and 3 men in the 65-plus age group.[30]

On April 3, the number of cases increased by 12% to 988. Four women over 65 died, bringing the total number of deaths to 38 or 3.8% of cases).[31] There were drive-thru testing sites in 17 counties.[32] Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter warned Oklahoma residents to be wary of scams as residents wait for emergency financial assistance, telling them to ignore emails or texts purporting to offer help in expediting payments or charging fees for the assistance. They can stay up to date by visiting the websites for the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the IRS.[33]

On April 4, cases increased by 17% to 1,159 and the number of deaths to 42. Of the 2,521 Oklahoma residents tested to date, 46% have tested positive. The Oklahoma State Department of Health announced that the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps was recruiting both medical and non-medical volunteers.[34]

On April 5, there were 1,251 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 8%, the lowest percentile increase since March 21. Four more people over 65 died, bringing the total number of Oklahoma deaths due to COVID-19 to 46, or 3.7% of positive cases.[35]

On April 6, cases increased to 1,327 and the number of deaths grew to 51. Jefferson County had its first confirmed case, and the first death from the disease in Pottawatomie occurred.[36]

On April 7, cases increased to 1,472 and deaths increased to 67. The first deaths occurred in Adair and Cherokee counties, while the first cases of the virus were confirmed in Beaver, Dewey, and Marshall counties.[37]

On April 8, the number of deaths grew to 79, with 1,524 total cases.[38]

On June 10, President Donald Trump announced he would hold a rally for his 2020 re-election campaign at the BOK Center in Tulsa on June 19 (later rescheduled to June 20 for sensitivity reasons due to Juneteenth),[39] in his first public campaign event since the pandemic's U.S. activation in March. Concerns were raised that the rally could be a superspreader event; the Trump campaign stated that it would perform temperature checks and offer face masks and hand sanitizer to attendees, while attendees were required to not hold the Trump campaign liable for any exposure to COVID-19 that may occur at the rally.[6][40]

On June 14, Oklahoma announced its largest single-day increase in cases, at 225. Tulsa County also reported its largest single-day increase since March.[41][42] On June 18, after initially experiencing technical difficulties preventing the release of COVID-19 totals in the state, the Oklahoma State Department of Health reported that Oklahoma had reached 9,354 cases, an increase of 450, which broke the previous record day-to-day case increase of 259.[43]

On June 15, Vice President Mike Pence stated that the rally was being hosted in Oklahoma because they had flattened the curve "in a very real sense", claiming that "their hospital capacity is abundant, [and] the number of cases in Oklahoma has declined precipitously". This was despite the fact that Oklahoma (and several other states where the campaign planned to hold rallies) had seen a recent spike in new cases since they began lifting restrictions and lockdown measures.[41][42]

The total attendance of the rally would be lower than was expected by the Trump campaign; a planned outdoor overflow stage (which was also scheduled to have an in-person appearance by Trump following the indoor address) was scrapped just hours before the rally, and the total attendance was estimated to be around 6,000.[44][45]

On March 28, the executive order was amended to require 14 days of self-isolation for anyone travelling to Oklahoma by air from six states that had a large number of cases, including California, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.[56]

The National Basketball Association suspended its 2019–20 season on March 11 after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 prior to a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.[6]

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) postponed its high school basketball tournaments, and all other spring semester sports activities.[40][60]