OKLAHOMA CITY – Though he won’t be doing much traveling for the next two weeks because he has contracted COVID-19, Republican Governor Kevin Stitt has moved extensively through Oklahoma since the first week of July – roughly during the same period of time he was exposed to the COVID-19 virus, records show.
Wednesday morning Stitt confirmed he had tested positive for the virus. The governor said he was unsure where he was infected. He reported that he felt fine and that his wife and children also had been tested and those test results were negative.
News of Governor Stitt’s illness comes just days after his Lawton visit.
On Friday Gov. Stitt, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, and members of the staff spoke with business and community leaders about economic development.
During the visit, Stitt, Pinnell, and their entourage toured the facilities at Republic Paperboard.
Still, Stitt’s travels mean that at any point during the past two weeks he could have become infected and, at the same time, could have infected others.
Ray Howard, president of Republic Paperboard, assured the Ledger that he is not taking the situation lightly and is doing his utmost to keep Republic employees safe.
“There were three people in contact who were within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more,” said Howard. “And those three people will be quarantined and tested.
Howard was one of three members in upper management who was in contact with Stitt. He is now self-quarantined at home.
Following COVID-19 protocols Republic had in place, Howard said the areas Gov. Stitt visited have been “deep- cleaned and fumigated.”
At this time, Republic is not shutting down the plant, Howard stated.
Just after the governor’s announcement, a member of Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell’s staff confirmed that he had been notified about the governor’s diag- nosis and would be tested later this week.
On Tuesday, the governor and lieutenant governor both attended a meeting of the Commissioners of the Land Office. That meeting, records show, also was attended by state Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur.
Stitt’s spokesman, Charlie Hannema, confirmed that Arthur was notified prior to Stitt’s Wednesday press conference about her exposure. Hannema said Arthur would work remotely in the interim.
Additionally, social media postings show the governor, who is often seen not wearing a mask or practicing social distancing measures, visited Kai, a downtown Tulsa Vietnamese restaurant last Thursday.
In the posting, Stitt – without a mask – is shown posing with two members of the restaurant’s staff, both of whom are wearing masks.
Shortly after Stitt’s press conference, the restaurant announced it would be closed until further notice.
“He (Stitt) visited our establishment last week and we want to be proactive and shut down and the staff tested and get our restaurant professionally disinfected,” the posting said.
During his Tulsa visit, Stitt also attended a funeral at a large south Tulsa church for a Tulsa police officer killed in the line of duty.
A picture posted to the Tulsa Police Department’s social media accounts showed that inside the event there were few masks and no social distancing.
Earlier that same day, the governor also visited the Otoe-Missouria tribal complex in Red Rock, located about 30 minutes south of Ponca City.
According to a release on the tribe’s website, Stitt met with Otoe-Missouria leaders and local legislators to discuss the tribe’s new gaming compact.
The governor also met with leaders from two other tribes to sign gaming compacts in his office within the two-week exposure window.
Brittney Bennett, a spokeswoman for the Tahlequah-based United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, said tribal officials are aware their July 1 signing ceremony was within that timeframe and were in the process of determining a specific course of action.
“We will be taking additional steps,” she said, “We are already trying to do everything we can on a regular basis. Obviously, it is a concern to us. We are going to sit down and talk about our options to ensure our employees are safe and healthy.”
Officials with the other tribe, the Kialegee Tribal Town, headquartered in Wetumka, could not be reached on deadline.