When statistics were released May 19 by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, they showed 5,489 cases in the state and 294 deaths, three in the past 24 hours. Blaine County shows three active cases.
Those three cases break down into one in Watonga, one in Okeene and one in Geary. One previous case in Okeene is considered recovered and another originally believed to have been in Greenfield was instead a case of mistaken zip code. It turned out the patient was from Canadian County, but a mix up in the zip codes showed it to be in Blaine County. That case has since been reclassified correctly.
Numbers issued from the OSDH are beginning to show a different picture than was first anticipated. At first, it was believed there were more patients 65 years old or older suffering. This week shows that while there are more cases in that age group – 25.72 percent, it is closely followed by those 18-35 at 24.76 percent. The 50-64 age group has 22.6 percent of all cases in the state, mirrored by those 36-49 at 22.3 percent.
While it was rightly expected that more populated areas like Oklahoma County, with 1,087 cases and Tulsa County, with 802 would see the highest rate of infections, rural Texas County in the Panhandle is third with 784 cases. Guymon, with a population of just over 11,000 has some 650 active cases, four deaths and 277 recovered patients. The number of cases there has jumped from less than 10 in early April to today’s numbers, which are higher than Tulsa’s. Tiny Hooker, population 1,888 also lies in Texas County. Some 75 confirmed cases have been reported there, with one death and 57 recovered patients.
The department of health is working with Seaboard Farms, one of the largest workplaces in the county, to find solutions and ensure the health of plant employees and families.
In the U.S. there have been 1.54 million cases confirmed, with 287,000 recovered and 90,263 deaths. Worldwide that number climbs to 316,000 dead from 4.76 million confirmed cases. Recovered patients number at 1.75 million.
The state is working toward recovery itself. Bars and pubs were allowed to reopen May 15. Many casinos around the state are cautiously reopening, including at El Reno where patrons braved a two-plus hour wait to get in. Also around the state, courthouses are beginning to open for tax purposes and court hearings, while driver’s license bureaus are also beginning to see customers for renewals and new licenses or IDs.
The Capitol is also in the beginning stages of reopening to the public. Some counties have decided to take a slower approach to the reopening, instead watching what is going on at other courthouses and taking the additional time to add plexiglass guards between customers and customer service representatives. Few if any banks have reopened their lobbies, instead using online or drive through banking until the risk is further mitigated.
Connie Burcham can be reached at Editor@WatongaRepublican.com