I mean starting tomorrow when the ordinance expires, almost no businesses will require masks even though they have every right to do so.

And people will just completely stop wearing them.

Didn’t the ordinance technically stop today? 12am on 30th would be in the past now.

Didn’t the ordinance technically stop today? 12am on 30th would be in the past now.

12AM is midnight.

12AM is midnight.

I know that

12am is the start of the next day. So when I read ends at 12am on 4/30. I read it as it is officially over now as it was over when the 30day of April began at 12:00am.

Confirmed on city posts that it ended at midnight last night.

Interesting then that Sam's Club on 39th still has its "masks required" sign in place.

Maybe they just haven't gotten around to removing it.

Interesting then that Sam's Club on 39th still has its "masks required" sign in place.

Maybe they just haven't gotten around to removing it.

Well they aren’t required to take down signs. They can still say they are required. They might should probably just change it to not say due to local ordinance.
I haven’t been out much today but most places I went still had their signs up. Some had them down

I just saw the best example of the effect OKC's ordinance ending will have on the surrounding communities. I just had to run to the bank and get some papers signed, so I was inside (masked up as normal). I noticed two older folks at the counter wearing the paper masks, so I had a pretty good idea they showed up without them. On the way out, the guy pointed to the sign on the door required masks and (very loudly) exclaimed "just till the end of day today, and then I'm not putting a mask on again!", and looked around like he was some hero. Luckily everyone just ignored him. To be clear, this bank is in Edmond, NOT OKC.

So people are confused on a lot of things -

When the OKC mask ordinance ended (at 12am today)
That it was only OKC
And businesses can STILL require masks

So, with that last one in mind, I expect no businesses will want to deal with the complaints or bother.

^

Right, but Sam's took down their sign in Edmond when their ordinance expired.

Next time I go, I bet the sign on 39th will be gone. Today, more than half the people didn't have them on anyway, although the staff did.

^

I'd say about 50% of the people I now see in OKC have already stopped wearing masks in stores and restaurants, so I expect almost no one will from tomorrow on.
I agree. Not a huge retail outlet but I had to go to 2 Sherwin-Williams paint stores Wednesday. There might have been 1 other person, employee or customer, besides me that was masked. And one store had already taken the signs down. Went to Walmart on 104th & 240 this morning. Employee inside the door to remind people to wear masks is no longer there. That store has always been pretty consistently good about everyone being masked. Today about 30% were not masked.

^

Right, but Sam's took down their sign in Edmond when their ordinance expired.

Next time I go, I bet the sign on 39th will be gone. Today, more than half the people didn't have them on anyway, although the staff did.

I’m headed to sams tonight or in the morning. Ill let you know what they are doing.

I was at the gym the other day that required masks. Saw 2 people that weren't wearing masks. As far as I can tell they leveraged the gym's financial situation in combination with a "breathing issue" to get an exemption. Also in Edmond. Curious to see how it plays out.

I was at the gym the other day that required masks. Saw 2 people that weren't wearing masks. As far as I can tell they leveraged the gym's financial situation in combination with a "breathing issue" to get an exemption. Also in Edmond. Curious to see how it plays out.

You went to a gym where people were actually wearing a mask? That's shocking. My gym wasted no time removing all the mask signs today - not sure why they bothered posting them in the first place except for probably liability protection if an issue came up.

I’m in Texas at a university gym where there is 100% mask compliance. It’s nice... even if cardio in a mask does suck.

I’m in Texas at a university gym where there is 100% mask compliance. It’s nice... even if cardio in a mask does suck.

Have you tried running or bicycling outside? The weather is very nice this time of year.

Total vaccination rates are provided by the OK Dept of Health once a week.

By their numbers, adults that are now fully vaccinated in the state is 32.8%.

71,181 more were added, compared to 93,669 the previous week.

Went to Crest on Rockwell this morning. Entry only signs on one set of doors and exit only signs on the other set are gone. Floor stickers six feet apart are gone. Signs saying "Employees are required to wear masks, customers are encouraged". I would say 90% of customers were wearing masks. I was surprised.

Interesting then that Sam's Club on 39th still has its "masks required" sign in place.

Maybe they just haven't gotten around to removing it.

The memorial sams still has their corporate banner outside saying masks required. No long any okc specific signage up.
And 99% of people in there had masks on.

I went to Homeland on North May and the liquor store this morning. The signs were down about mask but all employees were wearing them and I only saw one customer without one.

The 7-11 at 36th and Santa Fe still had their signs up and employees were wearing masks.


As a side note, that is one of their newest stores and it was disgusting. Trash all over the parking lot, disgusting, dirty floors that made your feet stick, beyond filthy restroom. One of my very few 7-11 visits in quite a while and I will do everything in my power to not go back.

i went to crest on sw 104th & may early this morning and the signage has been updated... it states that employees are "required" to wear masks and the public is "encouraged" to wear them.


As a side note, that is one of their newest stores and it was disgusting. Trash all over the parking lot, disgusting, dirty floors that made your feet stick, beyond filthy restroom. One of my very few 7-11 visits in quite a while and I will do everything in my power to not go back.

our office moved southside last august, so it's been almost a year since i've been to that 7-11... but i cam confirm it was disgusting then. i remember the soda fountains would routinely be dripping onto the floor, the floor was often sticky, and the straws and lids were often in complete disarray. it was a very poorly maintained store.

I went to a couple of places in OKC this morning, and no mask required signage at either place, no employees wearing masks, and both places employees went out of their way to tell me I don't have to wear masks anymore. One actually seemed put out that I didn't remove mine.

Then we went to Kohl's in Edmond, and they are still requiring masks, still have the dressing rooms closed, still have one entrance closed to control flow, etc.

Like day and night.

Just left Sean's liquor on NW Exp. Still has mask required signs and out of about 10 people only one guy wasn't wearing one. Didn't check signage at Petco or Aldi but almost everyone I saw was wearing a mask in those too.

Just left Sean's liquor on NW Exp. Still has mask required signs and out of about 10 people only one guy wasn't wearing one. Didn't check signage at Petco or Aldi but almost everyone I saw was wearing a mask in those too.

So it sounds like in general the population will follow the rules of the business. As it was before it ended there are some who are just unruly and gather attention.

Probably store where it wasn’t enforced to begin with have signs down so not much different than before. And then stores who have signs up have a high compliance. I’d like to think most people are decent and will follow the rules but like I said the ones who don’t always gather more attention

As a side note, that is one of their newest stores and it was disgusting. Trash all over the parking lot, disgusting, dirty floors that made your feet stick, beyond filthy restroom. One of my very few 7-11 visits in quite a while and I will do everything in my power to not go back.

I stopped at the 7/11 at SW 44th and May last week in the morning. It was spotless. So much to the point that I mentioned it to the cashier because usually....7/11's aren't clean.

At Stitch the signs were down, but the employees wore masks. The group in front of me didn't wear masks, but outside of that everybody was either at a table or had a mask on.

At domenico, the sign was up. Employees wore masks, and most customers did. If they didn't I wasn't sure if they wore masks, decided to eat outside, forgot something and came back or not.

Stopped by the gym late at night. Everybody was masked, granted it wasn't worn correctly.

Chick n Beer the signage was still up. Employees had masks on, and the people I saw coming in had masks on.

Sat around at VZD's and it was pretty much like old times.

Sam's on 39th still has their sign up and pretty much everyone was wearing masks including the employees.

Homeland on 18th/Classen was good, signs up and everybody (employees and customers) were masked, arrows still on floors.

Have you tried running or bicycling outside? The weather is very nice this time of year.

I have never considered this. Does it require a membership? ;)

Yes, I’ve worked out outside almost everyday for over a year. There are things I prefer to do in a gym and it has brought me a lot of joy being able to do so again. I appreciate that I have access to a gym that does things about as safe as possible. I personally won’t support any business that isn’t at least trying. Employees wearing masks is a non-negotiable for me. But, I wouldn’t attend an indoor gym that did not require masks for everyone. It’s pretty much a worst case setting during a respiratory pandemic.

Since about April 1 I've been able to see mom. But with an appointment and being screened by a staff member and only entering by the main entrance. Starting tomorrow we will be issued a card and with it we can come and go as we please.

Since about April 1 I've been able to see mom. But with an appointment and being screened by a staff member and only entering by the main entrance. Starting tomorrow we will be issued a card and with it we can come and go as we please.

Nice, glad you're getting more accessibility. My mom had to go to a physical therapy rehab for about 10 days recently, we were able to walk in w/o an appt., sign in, get our temps taken and meet with her in a visiting room, so things are definitely loosening up.

It’s pretty much a worst case setting during a respiratory pandemic.

Correct.

Belle Isle Walmart over the weekend also still had the big corporate banners up and good mask compliance for employees and customers, at least from what I saw.

567 new cases for the 3-day period (last 3 Mondays: 728, 787, 968); 7-day rolling average 228 the lowest since 6/17/20.

35 additional reported deaths for the 3-day period; 7-day rolling average 9.9.

Hospitalizations as of Friday were 182 (-4).

ICU on Friday was 48 (-10).


Numbers continue to look good and trend downward.

Let's hope they stay that way!
Nationally the 7 day average for new cases per 100k people has dropped from 151 about 3 weeks ago to 105 today. Hair over 30% drop.

Let's hope they stay that way!
Nationally the 7 day average for new cases per 100k people has dropped from 151 about 3 weeks ago to 105 today. Hair over 30% drop.

I just heard on the news that they say it will take 80% of the population to get vaccinated for herd immunity. Does anyone see them reaching those numbers?

Reminder that herd immunity is local. Also, you need to include the already-infected into those calculations for "immune" population. There is some overlap of course between already infected and vaccinated folks, and we don't know to what extent, but I wouldn't be surprised if some areas here in the US hit that 80% threshold. Here in OK I'm a bit more skeptical. *Maybe* OKC/Edmond and other educated areas, and some tribal areas might hit it too, but other areas won't.

In other words (https://twitter.com/GDNPearson/status/1389294965180747778):


What herd immunity means is that if cases are introduced from outside they will eventually die out rather than grow exponentially. So small clusters can develop but won’t grow out of control.

I just heard on the news that they say it will take 80% of the population to get vaccinated for herd immunity. Does anyone see them reaching those numbers?
Not anywhere near by vaccinations. And even adding the unknown number of people that have had the virus possibly not even close. But something's going right. Nationally the numbers are dropping pretty rapidly. And this is with so much talk of so many areas having the much more contagious variants spreading. Which makes dropping numbers even better. Maybe, and I'm only saying maybe not suggesting fact, we're seeing in the US what 30ish percent completely immunized plus those with natural antibodies can cause vs. single digit immunizations like in India. If so I'm happy with where we are.

While the vaccines are likely to last around a year, they will still need boosters. It going to be a lot like the flu in that regard.

So it's very hard to count people who had Covid-19 but will not take the vaccine (and you would think many who had the disease were doubters in the first place and thus less careful) as part of the herd. 1) No one knows how long they will be protected from reinfection (likely a shorter period than those vaccinated); and 2) if they won't take the shot now, it's doubtful they will down the road; so 3) if originally counted in herd immunity that will fade as we get down the line.


I'll bet dollars to donuts that Oklahoma when compared to other states ends up on the very high end of infections in future years; precisely because we have a larger percentage of those refusing the shot when compared to other places. And I bet we'll start to see that next fall/winter.

I can't seem to link it but the KFOR app has a new story about how with the lowering vaccination rate plus the unknown number and duration of natural antibodies indicate that COVID will never go away. But that it will hopefully be a controlled virus. Also it says that Dr Fauci has stopped using the term herd immunity and just hopes for lowered hospitalizations and deaths.

Nobody expects it to go away but I guarantee it will turn into a much bigger problem in Oklahoma as compared to other states because so many people here are refusing to get vaccinated.

Nobody expects it to go away but I guarantee it will turn into a much bigger problem in Oklahoma as compared to other states because so many people here are refusing to get vaccinated.

A lot of those people will eventually come around.
Plus, the antibodies are fairly durable.
Powerful combination with the vaccines.

While the vaccines are likely to last around a year, they will still need boosters. It going to be a lot like the flu in that regard.
The
So it's very hard to count people who had Covid-19 but will not take the vaccine (and you would think many who had the disease were doubters in the first place and thus less careful) as part of the herd. 1) No one knows how long they will be protected from reinfection (likely a shorter period than those vaccinated); and 2) if they won't take the shot now, it's doubtful they will down the road; so 3) if originally counted in herd immunity that will fade as we get down the line.


I'll bet dollars to donuts that Oklahoma when compared to other states ends up on the very high end of infections in future years; precisely because we have a larger percentage of those refusing the shot when compared to other places. And I bet we'll start to see that next fall/winter.

What a modern scientific miracle too have these vaccines, and not use them for everybody’s benefit. Like stop lights, nobody would run a red light, or would they?

A lot of those people will eventually come around.
Plus, the antibodies are fairly durable.
Powerful combination with the vaccines.

Recent studies of SARS and MARS—probably the most comparable to COVID-19—showed antibodies lasting up to 17 and 6+ years respectively. I don't know how to interpret those in relation to annual COVID-19 vaccines or how similar they'll be, but it could mean that there will be more immunity lingering even for those who don't follow up with boosters. Still a lot of unknowns.

Well the Riverstar casino in Terral Ok was doing no social distancing at all. Kiowa casino on the other had was doing temperature checks, non smoking, dividers between the machines or every other machine shut off. Also actually saw someone wiping down the slot machines also. Masking was much better at Kiowa also. Riverstar not so much as they allowed smoking and was pretty packed. Home Depot in Wichita Falls was mostly masked also. Just to give you an idea of what's going on in far southern Oklahoma/Texas

Recent studies of SARS and MARS—probably the most comparable to COVID-19—showed antibodies lasting up to 17 and 6+ years respectively. I don't know how to interpret those in relation to annual COVID-19 vaccines or how similar they'll be, but it could mean that there will be more immunity lingering even for those who don't follow up with boosters. Still a lot of unknowns.
I hope they last a long time. I wonder what made those antibodies last so long. So many studies of COVID-19 show natural antibodies lasting 3, 4, 5 months. And both times I had antibodies 4 months was right on the nose.

142 new cases today (last 3 Tuesdays: 115, 75, 109); 7-day rolling average 232.

3 additional reported deaths; 7-day rolling average 10.1.

Hospitalizations are 186 (+6).

ICU is 51 (+1).

I hope they last a long time. I wonder what made those antibodies last so long. So many studies of COVID-19 show natural antibodies lasting 3, 4, 5 months. And both times I had antibodies 4 months was right on the nose.

From my understanding (which could be wrong) I believe the body naturally fights COVID a different way, where the vaccines instruct the body to target the Achilles heel of the virus, by attacking its reproduction protein. Basically, the body goes for the whole virus, while the vaccine teaches the body to just give it a swift kick in the groin and strip it of its way to replicate itself.

It makes sense that the body's natural immunity would be different than the vaccine. Amazing technology with the mRNA approach.

252 new cases today (last 3 Wednesdays: 249, 238, 406); 7-day rolling average 232.

No new reported deaths.

Hospitalizations are 170 (-18).

ICU is unchanged at 51.

I know that data can fluctuate quite a bit day to day but what a great thing to have a day of zero deaths for the whole state. We’ve come a long way in just a few months.

Speaking of data fluctuating, I think something else worth mentioning with today's numbers from the OSDH is that the number of active cases (which I've felt for a while has been way too high) plummeted from over 10,000 to less than 2400. OKC went from 1500 active to under 500. Very encouraging signs that additional deaths may stay in the single digits or even stay at zero for now.

Less encouraging is that the number of fully vaccinated Oklahomans have practically stalled out. What was growth of 0.5-1% a day was .04% yesterday.

148 new cases today (last 3 Thursdays: 289, 283, 302); 7-day rolling average 212.

20 additional reported deaths; 7-day rolling average 10.4.


Updated hospitalization and ICU not reported last night for some reason.

148 new cases today (last 3 Thursdays: 289, 283, 302); 7-day rolling average 212.

20 additional reported deaths; 7-day rolling average 10.4.


Updated hospitalization and ICU not reported last night for some reason.

I heard they were putting hospitalizations with the morning report since the got rid of the EOR. I could be wrong but there was a story on news 5 about it.

I heard they were putting hospitalizations with the morning report since the got rid of the EOR. I could be wrong but there was a story on news 5 about it.

The daily situation update report has the hospital number listed by region now. Showing 3 day average by region

Today total is 178 with 69 of those being ICU

Also total active cases is 1837. I had been wondering about this number because it was hovering at 10,000 which didn’t make sense

Reuters daily report shows the national 7 day average of new cases per 100k population as 97. It hasn't been below 100 since sometime in October.

234 new cases today (last 3 Fridays: 374, 304, 273); 7-day rolling average 192.

6 additional reported deaths; 7-day rolling average 9.1.


They've stopped providing Executive Reports with hospital information.

We are about to be bottom 10 in covid shots. Only 5k per day now.

234 new cases today (last 3 Fridays: 374, 304, 273); 7-day rolling average 192.

6 additional reported deaths; 7-day rolling average 9.1.


They've stopped providing Executive Reports with hospital information.

A little different as it’s 3 day average but hospital information on the situation reports daily now.

https://oklahoma.gov/covid19/newsroom/2021/may/situation-update--covid-19-05-07-2021.html

A little different as it’s 3 day average but hospital information on the situation reports daily now.

https://oklahoma.gov/covid19/newsroom/2021/may/situation-update--covid-19-05-07-2021.html

Thanks very much.

I'll start using those numbers, which as of today were:

Hospitalizations 178 (+8).

ICU 69 (+18).

667 new cases for the 3-day period (last 3 Mondays: 567, 728, 787). 7-day rolling average 206.

9 additional reported deaths. 7-day rolling average 5.4.

Damn, we missed being #1 by one spot.

STUDY: The Best COVID-19–Fighting States in America in 2021 (https://www.sykes.com/resources/reports/2021-best-worst-covid19-fighting-states-america)

85 new cases today (last 3 Tuesdays: 142, 115, 75); 7-day rolling average 198.

1 additional reported death; 7-day rolling average 5.1.

Hospitalizations are 161 (-17).

ICU is 53 (-16).