Stitt: Reopening plan in the works, but he won’t move too soon

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Head of state restaurant group: ‘Losses are huge’

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  • Opening the Oklahoma economy?
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt said Wednesday he is working on a plan to reopen the state’s economy as the threat from the coronavirus fades – but he’s not there yet.

Speaking at a state Capitol press conference, Stitt said the state was “flattening the curve and making tremendous progress” in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. But the governor cautioned residents that he didn’t want to move too soon.

“Hospitalizations peaked in Oklahoma on March 30 and have continued to decline since then,” the Republican governor said. “But now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. We need to continue social distancing, washing hands and limiting trips to the grocery store and pharmacy.”

Because the threat of a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations has lessened, Stitt said his executive order suspending elective surgeries would expire on April 24.

“We suspended elective surgeries to protect hospital beds in case of a surge and to protect personal protective equipment for health care workers who treated COVID patients,” he said. “Today I’m announcing that elective surgeries can resume on April 24.”

Data from the state Department of Health showed 29,098 tests for the COVID-19 virus have been conducted. As of Sunday, 2,599 cases of the virus had been confirmed and 555 people hospitalized. The state had reported 140 deaths. 

Though Stitt said Oklahomans were beginning to see ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ he said he was extending his Safer-At-Home order for the state’s vulnerable population through May 6.

Stitt said he was currently consulting public health professionals and business and industry leaders about how businesses could reopen. One segment of the business community, the foodservice industry, continues to see dramatic losses.

On April 10, the National Restaurant Association estimated the industry has already lost more than $25 billion in sales. In Oklahoma, the president of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association said restaurants in the Sooner State were ‘being devastated’ by the pandemic.

“The losses are huge,” ORA President Jim Hopper said. Hopper said his group was working with the governor to develop a plan that would allow restaurants to reopen later this spring and still keep the public safe. “The industry wants to make sure the customer and our employees feel safe,” he said.

Hopper said the association was developing a plan that would be presented to Stitt later this week. For his part, Stitt said the state would continue to follow guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and he would make decisions based on scientific data and information gathered from state health care professionals.

“There will still be difficult times ahead,” he said. “There will be more infections, more hospitalizations and more deaths. What we do during the next three weeks will determine what happens after April 30th.”