OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Sean Roberts (R-Hominy), chairman of the Public Health
Committee in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, urges all Oklahomans to exercise good judgment and extreme caution regarding COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“The next several weeks are paramount in determining the impact the coronavirus has on our
communities. We must mitigate the impact and realize that this virus affects all age groups. It is
important that we fight this virus with an ‘Oklahoma Strong’ mentality. We must all work together to
protect our seniors, high-risk patients, and our healthcare providers. Even if you are not classified in
a high-risk sector for the coronavirus, if necessary precautions are not taken you are potentially
putting others at a higher risk of infection.
The deaths, hospitalization rates and effects that coronavirus have had on European countries, as well
as China and South Korea, show that this is extremely far from just being the flu. It took a mandated
quarantine for China to even limit its mortality rate to 5%; that level of quarantine is incompatible
with our culture. That Europe has seen young people hospitalized with grave damage, and in large
significant percentages, should concern us about the risk this invisible enemy poses.
I implore our citizens to actively limit their exposure. This would include keeping their families safe,
be it their children going to school virtually or telecommuting to work. Wherever possible, I
encourage families to look at options where they can stay home and limit their exposure. This limits
them to risk from individuals displaying symptoms, as well as those who do not yet qualify to test for
the virus but may be actively spreading the disease inadvertently.
The impact of this disease, if looking at infection rates and mortality rates experienced in other
countries, shows that this can be the most threatening enemy to our society in living memory. Action
absolutely MUST be taken, and NOW. Even a low estimate of a 2% mortality rate translates to
thousands of Oklahomans dying in the next 12 months due to coronavirus. We must stand together as
a community and limit our exposure to protect not only ourselves but also our neighbors, and to
hopefully get ahead of this virus before it is too late and we are simply reacting to it.”