I just read this on a bass player’s board. (Yes, this old man plays the bass).

“Yesterday (Friday) was the first day a statewide mandate to wear masks in public started here in Washington.
This morning, the wife and I decided to take a trip into town to see how many people complied. We went to a busy grocery store and the Lowe's in the same parking lot. As expected, at noon they were both packed.
I'd say almost everyone I saw was wearing a mask. As someone who feels wearing a mask is the right thing to do for now, I was relieved and happy to see so many people doing the same. It brought me a little hope that maybe after all the community where I live does care and wants to squash this disease.
We drove around a little longer and saw more people wearing masks.
Today was a good day for me”.

See. It can be done!

I just went to Sam's at 39th & May and I'd say 75% of the people were wearing masks, way up from just a week ago.

Went to Life Church, and probably 60% to 75% were wearing masks. Last week, maybe 25%.

Just got back from taking my kids to their swim lessons at Goldfish. I was the only person, employee or customer, wearing a mask. We need a massive attitude shift, and fast.

Well in the last week there's been a bit of a change. Probably 40% of people and all (non-pool) employees were wearing them. Coupled with the above posts, I think we're seeing (admittedly anecdotal) evidence of change thankfully.

I’m glad to read some places mask wearing is increasing. We watched Crossings service on the internet this morning. Maybe half full main sanctuary which is all they’re using right now. When the showed the crowd I literally saw 1 guy wearing a mask. ONE!

was a crest in norman this morning, and the usualy 10% wearing masks was closer to 30%.

BTW, I did some more research and learned that restaurants are required to report positive cases to the state.

But the state doesn't make that public in any way; just require the infected employee to be quarantined.

That's complete bullsh*t! This affects public health just like unsanitary restaurants do, an employee testing positive should be public knowledge just like health dept. inspections are.

Found out today there's a FB page called "Oklahoma Source" that aggregates that type of info and posts it, wife's now following them. They had info about a Mcloud school event where someone tested positive, county stats, linked to Pump Bar's post about their positive test, so it looks like it's way more informative about the public-type of things than anything I've seen.

I went to the Braums at May and 62nd yesterday. Not only was the staff preparing the food and waiting on customers not wearing masks, one was standing over the open ice cream containers scratching her scalp and repeatedly rubbing her nose then using the same hand to dip ice cream. It would be disgusting any time, but the lack of control and care of their customers at this particular time is abhorrent and totally irresponsible. It will be some time before I go back to Braums.

I will not visit Braum's for any reason until this is over. They don't demonstrate that they care about my health. They were allowed to stay open during the "shut down (lol)" because they have groceries, even though 85% of their guests are probably there to dine / get ice cream.

That's complete bullsh*t! This affects public health just like unsanitary restaurants do, an employee testing positive should be public knowledge just like health dept. inspections are.

Found out today there's a FB page called "Oklahoma Source" that aggregates that type of info and posts it, wife's now following them. They had info about a Mcloud school event where someone tested positive, county stats, linked to Pump Bar's post about their positive test, so it looks like it's way more informative about the public-type of things than anything I've seen.

I added Oklahoma Source as a follow this week. They are producing some extremely valuable reporting. For what.it's worth, the Oklahoman seems to have moved into a "ho hum" level of reporting.

I will not visit Braum's for any reason until this is over. They don't demonstrate that they care about my health. They were allowed to stay open during the "shut down (lol)" because they have groceries, even though 85% of their guests are probably there to dine / get ice cream.

No plexiglass at their registers. No marking off 6ft on the floor. When they were allowed to reopen no blocking off dining room tables. people were begging them to at least sell milk through drive-thru especially for seniors which they didn't do

Might be nothing to do with COVID but since March we’ve been getting curbside from Johnnies NW Exp every Sunday night. Just now their system says that the NW Exp store is not accepting orders. Could be some other reason but right now that’s the first thought.

No plexiglass at their registers. No marking off 6ft on the floor. When they were allowed to reopen no blocking off dining room tables. people were begging them to at least sell milk through drive-thru especially for seniors which they didn't do

Braum's hasn't given a sh*t about their customers or their stores for years, I stopped going there long ago, and this just solidifies my opinion that the owners suck massively.

Braum's hasn't given a sh*t about their customers or their stores for years, I stopped going there long ago, and this just solidifies my opinion that the owners suck massively.
We stopped going to their stores a few years ago mainly because loads of ice cream with all kinds of stuff on it didn’t fit with really needing to lose weight. But now I will never set foot in one for any reason.

I added Oklahoma Source as a follow this week. They are producing some extremely valuable reporting. For what.it's worth, the Oklahoman seems to have moved into a "ho hum" level of reporting.I just checked it out and followed it too. Looks pretty solid.

Ordered from Johnnies on May/Memorial since NWX store says they’re not accepting orders. Driving from Hefner/Rockwell I was kind if surprised at the restaurants. Interuban, Charlstons, Bricktown Brewery, Earl’s, etc. pretty much all had no more than a handful of cars parked outside. Johnnies had three people in the dining room. Last week about the same time of day everything I went by seemed quite a bit busier. Are people maybe paying attention? Twin Peaks was packed but 20 to 40 year old guys are untouchable.

I just checked it out and followed it too. Looks pretty solid.

Was reading their feed and saw a notice about Bellini's from a few days back that 2 servers have tested positive, and they verified it:

"We have screen shots from the manager texting an employee who had been tested. She told the employee to come in anyway. We had chosen not to show this to protect the identity of that employee. Of course there’s always people who demand to know so they can harass a min. wage employee. It appears that they’ve fired the employee."

Was looking forward to going to Bellini's now that Tommy Byrd was back in charge, but no damn way am I supporting him now. I'm going to start asking restaurants we get take-out from if they've had anybody test positive and if so, not ordering from them. Ridiculous that positive test results are not being reported to the public - probably too many of them, sadly...

Was reading their feed and saw a notice about Bellini's from a few days back that 2 servers have tested positive, and they verified it:

"We have screen shots from the manager texting an employee who had been tested. She told the employee to come in anyway. We had chosen not to show this to protect the identity of that employee. Of course there’s always people who demand to know so they can harass a min. wage employee. It appears that they’ve fired the employee."

Was looking forward to going to Bellini's now that Tommy Byrd was back in charge, but no damn way am I supporting him now. I'm going to start asking restaurants we get take-out from if they've had anybody test positive and if so, not ordering from them. Ridiculous that positive test results are not being reported to the public - probably too many of them, sadly...
This virus is really showing the very worst of human nature.

This virus is really showing the very worst of human nature.

Apparently to a huge number of people, it really is all about the Benjamins, screw absolutely everything else in pursuit of that. And yes, I realize that restaurants have to pay rent to they have to make money, and ditto all the way up the ladder (and down it too), but this has exposed that sheer massive capitalism on this scale without *real* social safety nets is not a functional way to run a city, state, or nation.

Over 10,000 new cases in Florida today. Good grief.

I saw on twitter that they have more active cases than Europe.

Apparently to a huge number of people, it really is all about the Benjamins, screw absolutely everything else in pursuit of that. And yes, I realize that restaurants have to pay rent to they have to make money, and ditto all the way up the ladder (and down it too), but this has exposed that sheer massive capitalism on this scale without *real* social safety nets is not a functional way to run a city, state, or nation.
Amen!!!

Apparently to a huge number of people, it really is all about the Benjamins, screw absolutely everything else in pursuit of that. And yes, I realize that restaurants have to pay rent to they have to make money, and ditto all the way up the ladder (and down it too), but this has exposed that sheer massive capitalism on this scale without *real* social safety nets is not a functional way to run a city, state, or nation.

Serious question. How would you resolve this situation while remaining a free society and a place where anyone has the opportunity to be successful?

Mug, isn’t that a bit dramatic?

Serious question. How would you resolve this situation while remaining a free society and a place where anyone has the opportunity to be successful?

You’re going to have to define “free society.” Because i can’t see any thoughtful analysis that would think mask requirements for public health during a pandemic would move us out of the “free society” category. There are thousands of regulations and laws we all follow every day. This really isn’t different.

To your second point, NOT wearing masks certainly is a greater economic and freedom harm then wearing them. Many people are excluded from economic opportunities and participation due to health concerns that can be mitigated by mask wearing. Moreover, mask wearing slows the spread of a virus that’s wreaking economic havoc. The most pro-economy thing you can do is wear a mask.

If you think a “free society” is one where you do whatever you want then you’ve never lived in a “free society.”

You’re going to have to define “free society.” Because i can’t see any thoughtful analysis that would think mask requirements for public health during a pandemic would move us out of the “free society” category. There are thousands of regulations and laws we all follow every day. This really isn’t different.
This type of mentality is what leads to authoritarian governments.

“Oh, it’s only one more law/regulation” “we already have others why not more”

If individual businesses want to mandate masks, fine. If the we want to allow workers to quit until the pandemic is officially over for health concerns and be eligible for benefits, fine. If people want to stay home and shelter in place voluntarily, fine. Government mandating that or forcing people to wear masks? F@ck no!

Apparently to a huge number of people, it really is all about the Benjamins, screw absolutely everything else in pursuit of that. And yes, I realize that restaurants have to pay rent to they have to make money, and ditto all the way up the ladder (and down it too), but this has exposed that sheer massive capitalism on this scale without *real* social safety nets is not a functional way to run a city, state, or nation.

I'm not being dramatic at all. The post says it's all about $ and says sheer massive capitalism without safety nets is not a way to run a country. I am seriously curious what he would do about it while maintaining our freedoms? Respectfully, It's not a hard question to understand.

Was reading their feed and saw a notice about Bellini's from a few days back that 2 servers have tested positive, and they verified it:

"We have screen shots from the manager texting an employee who had been tested. She told the employee to come in anyway. We had chosen not to show this to protect the identity of that employee. Of course there’s always people who demand to know so they can harass a min. wage employee. It appears that they’ve fired the employee."

Was looking forward to going to Bellini's now that Tommy Byrd was back in charge, but no damn way am I supporting him now. I'm going to start asking restaurants we get take-out from if they've had anybody test positive and if so, not ordering from them. Ridiculous that positive test results are not being reported to the public - probably too many of them, sadly...

Can you link to this please?

With all due respect, this type of mentality is what leads to authoritarian governments.

Many of the governments most flaunting mask wearing are led by authoritarians. In ancient Greece, they called people who were committed to the common good citizens; they called those who selfishly pursue only their own narrow interests idiots. The most ancient understandings of democracy are always grounded in public interest, not some kind of selfish individualism. In the most classic democratic terms, idiocy is not wearing a mask.

I'm not being dramatic at all. The post says it's all about $ and says sheer massive capitalism without safety nets is not a way to run a country. I am seriously curious what he would do about it while maintaining our freedoms? Respectfully, It's not a hard question to understand.

*Gestures to all of Europe, Japan, South Korea*

edit: Also, this is the OKC covid thread, not a politics one, so let's keep this on track

*Gestures to all of Europe, Japan, South Korea*

Also all the countries who have governments, economies, and health care systems faring better than the U.S. during this pandemic.

Many of the governments most flaunting mask wearing are led by authoritarians. In ancient Greece, they called people who were committed to the common good citizens; they called those who selfishly pursue only their own narrow interests idiots. The most ancient understandings of democracy are always grounded in public interest, not some kind of selfish individualism. In the most classic democratic terms, idiocy is not wearing a mask.
Okay well you should go live in those authoritarian government regimes and enjoy. I’m good and I’ll stick here in America and not just constantly tell myself “it’s only one more law”

Can you link to this please?

Sorry, I can't, I don't have a FB account, and couldn't find a way to link to the individual post. Just search for Oklahoma Source and scroll down a few days.

Also all the countries who have governments, economies, and health care systems faring better than the U.S. during this pandemic.

Yeah, pretty much this and what PoliSciGuy said. There are countries who paid 80% of a worker's salary during the lockdowns/quarantines, just as one example. It's not about "freedom", it's about a nation taking care of one's citizens. Isn't that really one of the huge responsibilities (if not the only one) of government?

I’d rather have freedom. Give me liberty or death. There are plenty of countries out there that are more than happy to restrict your freedoms. It just must be a coincidence the one that believes in freedoms and personal liberties just so happens to be the most sought after, powerful nation in history.

Okay well you should go live in those authoritarian government regimes and enjoy. I’m good and I’ll stick here in America and not just constantly tell myself “it’s only one more law”

I think you misinterpreted the meaning of flaunting In the post you quoted.

Okay well you should go live in those authoritarian government regimes and enjoy. I’m good and I’ll stick here in America and not just constantly tell myself “it’s only one more law”

I hope you're doing alright, PluPan. I'm not going to debate you because you're just yelling past me and other posters. You usually provide evidence and rationales for your arguments even if others disagree. But these "mASkS aRe aUTHoriTARIan" takes are what I try to avoid online.

Beyond that, it's just disrespectful you keep implying I want to live in an authoritarian state. I have dedicated my entire career to work as an educator to strengthen democracy. For 4 of my 6 years teaching high school in OKC I taught AP U.S. government because I was dedicated to helping students grow as democratic citizens, I wrote a dissertation on democratic citizenship, I serve on the board of the largest social studies organization in the U.S., I host a podcast dedicated to the topic, I donate to organizations dedicated to preserving democracy, I donate my time and money to political campaigns, I'm a county voter registrar and I work to help young people get registered, and I serve in my local government as chair of major citizen committee. I know the U.S. Constitution, U.S. history, democracy, and citizenship inside and out, but I still try to learn more everyday. I've dedicated my life to democracy. Aside from not wearing a mask, what have you done for our democracy?

I honestly am happy to discuss with you why you think mask mandates are government overreach, but you're not making good faith arguments or providing evidence. We've disagreed in the past, but at least I knew your reasons. In fact, making informed arguments is at the heart of democracy.

The 2.0% positive is based on number of positives reported today (299) divided by the difference between completed tests reported yesterday (312,454) and completed tests reported today (327,683), which is 15,229. That yields a final result of 299/15,229 which is actually .019 (1.9%). All data is taken from the daily summary OSDH mails out.

Hmm, I am vexed here. Here is a post from the head of OU epidemiology. His numbers differ from yours considerably.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3893814160646914&id=100000551045034

I hope you're doing alright, PluPan. I'm not going to debate you because you're just yelling past me and other posters. You usually provide evidence and rationales for your arguments even if others disagree. But these "mASkS aRe aUTHoriTARIan" takes are what I try to avoid online.

Beyond that, it's just disrespectful you keep implying I want to live in an authoritarian state. I have dedicated my entire career to work as an educator to strengthen democracy. For 4 of my 6 years teaching high school in OKC I taught AP U.S. government because I was dedicated to helping students grow as democratic citizens, I wrote a dissertation on democratic citizenship, I serve on the board of the largest social studies organization in the U.S., I host a podcast dedicated to the topic, I donate to organizations dedicated to preserving democracy, I donate my time and money to political campaigns, I'm a county voter registrar and I work to help young people get registered, and I serve in my local government as chair of major citizen committee. I know the U.S. Constitution, U.S. history, democracy, and citizenship inside and out, but I still try to learn more everyday. I've dedicated my life to democracy. Aside from not wearing a mask, what have you done for our democracy?

I honestly am happy to discuss with you why you think mask mandates are government overreach, but you're not making good faith arguments or providing evidence. We've disagreed in the past, but at least I knew your reasons. In fact, making informed arguments is at the heart of democracy.
I am sorry you find my responses disrespectful as I am not trying to be that way.

My issue is with your words here:

“ There are thousands of regulations and laws we all follow every day. This really isn’t different.”

That is what prompted me to respond. Not whether or not masks are indeed effective. I’m skeptical about how effective they are but for sake of being mindful of others and putting their minds at ease, I keep one with me and wear it more often than not depending on the circumstances.

But when I hear someone advocate for a government regulation and use the argument of “oh you already have many other laws and regulations” as a supporting argument, that does not sit right with me at all.

I am sorry you find my responses disrespectful as I am not trying to be that way.

My issue is with your words here:

“ There are thousands of regulations and laws we all follow every day. This really isn’t different.”

That is what prompted me to respond. Not whether or not masks are indeed effective. I’m skeptical about how effective they are but for sake of being mindful of others and putting their minds at ease, I keep one with me and wear it more often than not depending on the circumstances.

But when I hear someone advocate for a government regulation and use the argument of “oh you already have many other laws and regulations” as a supporting argument, that does not sit right with me at all.

Why is this your hill to die on? I don’t particularly care to wear pants but I wear them in public, as per “government regulation.”

Why is this your hill to die on? I don’t particularly care to wear pants but I wear them in public, as per “government regulation.”
Well, are you ready to here another hill I would die on? I support the option to be nude in public. I don’t support public nudity laws and I think they should be abolished. I’m being serious.

However, with that said, I understand your point. Again, if a business mandates masks that is absolutely fine. I will respect that.

If a business doesn’t, and an employee resigns due to public health concerns during a pandemic, he/she/they should be entitled to benefits and I even support temporary UBI at this point.

Why is that a problem? More and more businesses are implementing mandatory masks. If you don’t like the ones that don’t then don’t shop there. My hill to die on is the principle of giving people options. Yours is implementing more and more laws and restrictions.

Well, are you ready to here another hill I would die on? I support the option to be nude in public. I don’t support public nudity laws and I think they should be abolished. I’m being serious.

However, with that said, I understand your point. Again, if a business mandates masks that is absolutely fine. I will respect that.

If a business doesn’t, and an employee resigns due to public health concerns during a pandemic, he/she/they should be entitled to benefits and I even support temporary UBI at this point.

Why is that a problem? More and more businesses are implementing mandatory masks. If you don’t like the ones that don’t then don’t shop there. My hill to die on is the principle of giving people options. Yours is implementing more and more laws and restrictions.

Options that endanger public health shouldn't really be in play during a pandemic, that's been upheld time and time again.

Options that endanger public health shouldn't really be in play during a pandemic, that's been upheld time and time again.
Says the same crowd that had no problem with the millions and millions of people crowding on the streets during the last protests.

Well, are you ready to here another hill I would die on? I support the option to be nude in public. I don’t support public nudity laws and I think they should be abolished. I’m being serious.

However, with that said, I understand your point. Again, if a business mandates masks that is absolutely fine. I will respect that.

If a business doesn’t, and an employee resigns due to public health concerns during a pandemic, he/she/they should be entitled to benefits and I even support temporary UBI at this point.

Why is that a problem? More and more businesses are implementing mandatory masks. If you don’t like the ones that don’t then don’t shop there. My hill to die on is the principle of giving people options. Yours is implementing more and more laws and restrictions.

You seem like a nice guy and someone I would enjoy getting a beer with, but it is hard to understand why you don’t simply trust the advice of people who are experts. I don’t get it. If you need more evidence, just look at the results of countries with high mask usage and look at the US. The difference is staggering. And, regarding your opposition to government mandated mask usage, we have tried it your way, and it has failed. People have shown with their actions that they will not be responsible, they will not wear masks and distance, and we are now paying the price of this misguided libertarian experiment.

Also, it is fair to say that public nudity does not potentially kill people.

You seem like a nice guy and someone I would enjoy getting a beer with, but it is hard to understand why you don’t simply trust the advice of people who are experts. I don’t get it. If you need more evidence, just look at the results of countries with high mask usage and look at the US. The difference is staggering. And, regarding your opposition to government mandated mask usage, we have tried it your way, and it has failed. People have shown with their actions that they will not be responsible, they will not wear masks and distance, and we are now paying the price of this misguided libertarian experiment.

Also, it is fair to say that public nudity does not potentially kill people.

Not true. We would have exponentially more car wrecks if public nudity was Cool-De-La.

I'm not being dramatic at all. The post says it's all about $ and says sheer massive capitalism without safety nets is not a way to run a country. I am seriously curious what he would do about it while maintaining our freedoms? Respectfully, It's not a hard question to understand.

and it was answered easily... mandatory mask wearing.

Says the same crowd that had no problem with the millions and millions of people crowding on the streets during the last protests.

most of the time distanced and most of them wearing masks...

If a business doesn’t, and an employee resigns due to public health concerns during a pandemic, he/she/they should be entitled to benefits and I even support temporary UBI at this point.


but wouldn't this have to be done by a government regulation? shouldn't a businesses owner have the freedom to make his own choices, since you don't want regulations? I'm curious why this government mandate for this business owner is acceptable but one stipulating a mask being warn in public isn't? honestly just curious where you draw the line as acceptable?

My issue is with your words here:

“ There are thousands of regulations and laws we all follow every day. This really isn’t different.”

That is what prompted me to respond. Not whether or not masks are indeed effective. I’m skeptical about how effective they are but for sake of being mindful of others and putting their minds at ease, I keep one with me and wear it more often than not depending on the circumstances.

But when I hear someone advocate for a government regulation and use the argument of “oh you already have many other laws and regulations” as a supporting argument, that does not sit right with me at all.

Yes, I would agree that democratic governments should avoid unnecessary or unjust laws. So, our real point of disagreement here is whether mask wearing is a good law, which is more productive.

I am not sure how you can still be skeptical of the effects of masks. There is a widespread consensus among researchers showing that masks dramatically lower the spread of the virus. There is no substantive research supporting the only counterpoints that I've heard (e.g., people fiddle with their mask too much). Some countries have been able to keep COVID cases down with their primary action as mask wearing. Of course, there's a lot of evidence that testing and contract tracing work too.

Anyway, so I support mask wearing mandates, enforced reasonably (no one wants to seriously criminalize non-mask wearers), as a temporary matter of public health. I therefore see the law as democratic because it is in the public's health interest, it is temporary, and there is no evidence of long-lasting concerns as there's widespread consensus to get rid of the mandate after the health crisis. Lastly, while mandating citizens to wear a specific clothing —of course, governments mandate citizens wear clothes already—is something we should be wary about generally, the circumstances mitigate any concerns I would have. Any concern about liberty seems largely theoretical as I don't think a mask wearing mandate threatens individual freedoms. In fact, Black Americans and other People of Color might actually have a liberty concern as wearing a mask can result in White Americans in particular labeling them a threat and calling police or claiming self-defense against them. There's a discussion worth having about how to manage these two competing threats to their health.

That's why I see mask mandates as a sign of a vibrant democracy that cares about it's public... unlike an authoritarian regime which would be more likely to undermine scientific expertise and not care about the health/death of citizens.

but wouldn't this have to be done by a government regulation? shouldn't a businesses owner have the freedom to make his own choices, since you don't want regulations? I'm curious why this government mandate for this business owner is acceptable but one stipulating a mask being warn in public isn't? honestly just curious where you draw the line as acceptable?

Ooh, ooh, I can play here.....

Now, just understand I'm in support of mask requirements, but just playing devils advocate..

This business owner is allowed the freedom to make his own choice here. The employee would also be exercising their freedom, which is to resign due to the health concerns. As to eligibility for unemployment, while employers do pay into unemployment insurance, ultimately unemployment is a relationship between a worker and the government. If the government chooses to extend more generous terms for eligibility, this is between the individual and the government as parties to the relationship. It doesn't affect the rights or freedoms of the business at all. Now it does incentivize, from a financial standpoint, the business making conditions such that employees wouldn't leave over health concerns. But this is still freedom, which doesn't imply lack of consequences or benefits for actions. But at this point the business could make the decision that made the most sense for them. For some, it might be taking the hit on their unemployment insurance premiums.

Regardless, this isn't the case, so it's neither here nor there. Right now, folks are being forced to work at employers who are not requiring masks for customers, and considering folks are having to camp out overnight to try to get unemployment, it's not like folks are having a choice when it comes to endangering themselves. No one should ever have to make a choice between keeping themselves and their families safe, and paying rent. That's lack of freedom, not a sign of it.

O
Regardless, this isn't the case, so it's neither here nor there. Right now, folks are being forced to work at employers who are not requiring masks for customers, and considering folks are having to camp out overnight to try to get unemployment, it's not like folks are having a choice when it comes to endangering themselves. No one should ever have to make a choice between keeping themselves and their families safe, and paying rent. That's lack of freedom, not a sign of it.

you and i are on the exact same page here... i just don't see how wearing a mask is such a major restriction of freedoms. it's a simple, scientifically proven, TEMPORARY way to help both the economy and public health. rather than the other option which is to support the economy at the expense of the public health.

Okay well you should go live in those authoritarian government regimes and enjoy. I’m good and I’ll stick here in America and not just constantly tell myself “it’s only one more law”

Yes, things are going so well in America right now! USA!!! We cannot deign to allow a city ordinance requiring a piece of cloth be worn when we hit the grocery store for ten minutes.

228 today. Looks like tomorrow there will be a COVID19 update from the governor at 2pm.

Hmm, I am vexed here. Here is a post from the head of OU epidemiology. His numbers differ from yours considerably.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3893814160646914&id=100000551045034

I stand by what OSDH reports.

Yes, 'only' 228 new cases today, but of course Monday's are always low when compared to the rest of the week. Last Monday was 218 and the one before that was 186. Those were ahead of record weeks.

49 new hospitalizations since Saturday; they don't report on Sunday.

0 additional deaths.

Hmm, I am vexed here. Here is a post from the head of OU epidemiology. His numbers differ from yours considerably.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3893814160646914&id=100000551045034


The numbers I cite are day-to-day numbers from the last day total tests were reported. Bratzler is talking about broad trends.

The numbers I cite are day-to-day numbers from the last day total tests were reported. Bratzler is talking about broad trends.

OK, not disputing your numbers at all, but I thought we were supposed to analyze trends, such as 7-day averages or 14-day averages to smooth out spikes and falls to get more realistic data. That is what the governor told us, that is what the mayor told us, and, when it was functioning, that is what the White House told us to look at.

We may have a couple of days of low test percentages here and there but would it not make more sense to analyze the broad trends?

I stand by what OSDH reports.

I am not sure what to think about OSDH. The Attorney General had to compel them to continue reporting information.

I am not sure what to think about OSDH. The Attorney General had to compel them to continue reporting information.

That has no material impact on the veracity of the data reported Friday and Saturday on which the 2% computation was based.

That has no material impact on the veracity of the data reported Friday and Saturday on which the 2% computation was based.

OK. Final question: do you think the state has declined to a 2% positive testing rate? Yes or no.

I am not sure what to think about OSDH. The Attorney General had to compel them to continue reporting information.

I don't recall them having to be compelled. From what was reported at the time, they stopped once the Governor's emergency powers expired due to legal/privacy concerns, and resumed once the AG's office cleared them to continue. Is there more to the story I haven't seen?

Wednesday through Friday looked promising with the trend being more linear than exponential. Midweek this week will tell us if this trend is continuing.

Were about 17 days now since the numbers started growing. I do expect the death rate to increase, but there has been significant improvements in treatment so that will keep the death rate down. The dexamethasone breakthrough was significant.