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Governor's Actions

 

The Oklahoma public health system has activated the Incident Command System and stands ready with a multitude of statewide and national partners to treat and minimize further spread. Public health officials will continue to work with health care providers and medical facilities to ensure proper assessment, testing and treatment protocols. State and local public health officials will continue to monitor travelers and any individuals who test positive for COVID-19.

Governor's Actions

Update April 14, 2020 | 5:30 PM

Statewide:

  • Issued statewide Executive Order that:
    • Enforces “Safer at Home” order across all 77 counties, requiring those age 65 and older and individuals who are immunocompromised or have pre-existing conditions to shelter in their homes, leaving only for essential needs like groceries or prescriptions, until April 30.
    • Closes non-essential businesses across all 77 counties until April 30: 
    • Suspends elective surgeries, minor medical procedures, and non-emergency dental procedures until April 30 to preserve medical supplies and PPE for COVID-19 response.  
    • Prohibits gatherings of 10 or more individuals.
    • Prohibits visitors at nursing homes, retirement or long-term care facilities.
    • Requires individuals to quarantine for 14 days once returning from the following states where national experts have identified significant community spread of COVID-19:
      • New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Louisiana, California, Washington 
    • Copy of the latest executive order is here: https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/executive/1924.pdf
  • Activated the Oklahoma National Guard and set up a Multi-Agency Coordination Center at the ONG Regional Training Institute where members the Governor’s Solution Task Force, members of the National Guard, and a limited number of personnel from other state agencies are working together to plan response and recovery activities for COVID-19. 
  • Declared a Health Emergency to allow the governor to waive statutory or regulatory requirements as well as the ability to coordinate a cohesive statewide response among city and county health departments for COVID-19 purposes.
  • Requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to provide reimbursement for eligible COVID-19 response costs. The request was approved by President Trump for all 77 Oklahoma counites.

COVID-19 testing:

  • Implemented statewide reporting requirements to collect and create transparent data of hospitals’ bed capacity, PPE supplies, and COVID-19 testing capacity. Data will be published regularly on this link: https://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/executive-order-reports
  • Expanded the State’s ability to process COVID-19 tests by tenfold, filing an executive order on March 22 to allow the labs at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the University of Oklahoma (OU) to perform COVID-19 testing. As of March 31, OSU’s lab is capable of processing 2,300 test kits a day, bringing the State’s total capacity to roughly 2,800 a day, so long as supplies are available.
  • Opened more than 75 drive COVID drive-thru testing locations, in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) and county health departments. Details on those locations can be found here: https://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/drive-thru-testing.
  • Entered into a public-private partnership with multiple private labs, beginning March 20, to expand the State’s capacity to deliver COVID-19 testing results. A list of those labs and their processing times can be found in the Governor’s daily COVID-19 report beginning on March 30: https://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/executive-order-reports 

Public Health and Health Care Providers:

  • Announced a Hospital Surge Plan to ensure Oklahoma is fully prepared to handle any surge in demand on the State’s hospital and healthcare system as a result of COVID-19. More details available here.
  • Released modeling data estimating a peak in COVID-19 cases on April 21.
  • Transformed the State’s 2-1-1 hotline into a tool for Oklahomans to call and receive screening support for COVID-19.
  • Suspended several regulations on telemedicine to ease capabilities for Oklahomans to receive medical support from a doctor without leaving home. 
  • Established expedited process for nurses with inactive licenses to get recertified. 
  • Extended licensing reciprocity for health care professionals, like doctors and nurses, who hold licenses to practice in other states. 
  • Suspended various regulations on truck drivers and commercial vehicles for transporting medical supplies and other critical items across state lines.
  • Waived extra cost for hospitals and healthcare entities to increase broadband, made possible due to FCC waiver. 
  • Approved an emergency rule that provides approval of temporary emergency waivers for the employment of nurse aid trainees in employer-based nurse aide training programs.
  • Filed an Executive Order to protect health care workers and their families from discrimination related to housing or childcare.
  • Placed requirements on delivery personnel to submit to screening upon request before entering any hospital, long term care facility or childcare facility. This screening would likely include a temperature check and short questionnaire about possible exposure to COVID-19.
  • Offered technology-based behavioral health services at the county health department level to support Oklahomans who are experiencing mental health distress. This service is through a partnership with Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services using MyCare Technology.
  • Provided a Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990.
  • Implemented relief measures for SoonerCare members and Medicaid recipients.

Workforce:

  • Launched the Manufacturing Reboot Program with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to address negative effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Oklahoma businesses, especially manufacturers. The program will provide awards from $25,000 to $150,000 depending on market potential and long-term impact of the new production capabilities on Oklahoma’s economy.
  • Received approval for State of Oklahoma’s request on March 17 for disaster loans for small businesses across all 77 counties who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses and nonprofit groups can apply for up to $2 million in loans through the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. 
  • Deferred borrowers paying back SBA loans from previous disasters to December 31, 2020. 
  • Hosting recurring weekly webinars with guidance and economic recovery information for Oklahoma industry sectors and several additional webinars with information for businesses about the SBA EIDL program.
  • Offering assistance for Oklahomans navigating the SBA Paycheck Protection Program.
  • Suspended the one-week waiting period before unemployment benefits can be paid and waved the work-search requirement and the benefit wage charge for unemployment benefits. 
  • Provided support for gig workers, independent contractors, and other self-employed individuals through a federal program made possible by the CARES Act.
  • Brought in more than 100 employees from other state agencies to provide staff support at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission and added an online “chat bot” to help the agency address the influx of clients filing unemployment claims.
  • Deferred state tax filing and payments until July 15 without late fees or interest
  • Extended expiration dates for all occupational licenses issued by any State agency, board or commission during the Declared State of Emergency period. 
  • Established stronger guidelines for Child Care facilities to prevent and/or respond to a COVID-19 positive case.

State Government:

  • Declared a State of Emergency allowing State Agencies to access all needed resources to proactively and aggressively respond to COVID-19 and to protect the health and safety of the public.  
  • Implemented a telework policy for state employees and banned out-of-state business travel for employees  
  • Issued an emergency order to ensure first responders who work for state agencies such as correctional officers, law enforcement and fire personnel will receive guaranteed paid time off if they contract COVID-19

Common Education – as directed by the State Superintendent, State Department of Education (SDE) Board:

  • Issued an Executive Order to ensure public school support staff will continue to be paid during COVID-19.
  • Closed all accredited PreK-12th grade public schools for students and educators for the remainder of the school year, as directed by the State Superintendent and SDE Board.
  • Suspended academic assessments for grades 3-8 or to high school juniors and suspended Oklahoma School Report Cards for the 2019-2020 school year, as requested by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and approved by the U.S. Department of Education on March 20. 
  • Secured a federal waiver to soon provide 2 free meals a day for Oklahoma students from PreK to 12th grade through their local public schools. Announcement here.
  • Waived extra cost for schools and libraries to increase bandwidth, made possible due to FCC waiver. 
  • Secured a federal waiver granting schools flexibility with current federal funds.
  • Partnered with OETA to provide curriculum-based programming for students over the air on its broadcast channel, OETA WORLD. Programming changes to OETA WORLD will take place Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. until the end of the school year. 

Public Safety:

Veterans:

  • Closed all 7 State Veteran Centers for visitors. All essential staff must be checked for COVID-19 symptoms before entering the building, with all non-essential ODVA staff instructed to telework. 
  • Eliminated voluntary stays at the 7 State Veterans Centers. Patients who were able to come and go before will now need to stay full time to prevent spread of the virus. 

Housing/Utilities:

Consumer Protection: 

  • Launched a state-federal partnership, between Attorney General Mike Hunter and U.S. District Attorney Tim Downing, to investigate and prosecute con artists attempting to defraud Oklahomans during the COVID-19 emergency. Reports of fraud or price gouging can be made by contacting the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit by calling 405-521-2029 or [email protected].
  • Put into statewide effective State’s price gouging statue, pursuant to action taken by the State Attorney General Mike Hunter
  • Activated consumer alert on at-home coronavirus testing, action taken by the State Attorney General Mike Hunter that reminds Oklahomans to be on high alert for scam artists trying to sell or administer home-testing kits for COVID-19. 
  • Issued a warning about potential fraud to Oklahomans awaiting their economic impact payments from the federal government. 

Volunteers:

  • Coordinated recruitment of volunteers for the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps to serve in medical and non-medical positions to supplement hospital personnel, assisting with transporting patients, and providing support in the field.
  • Launched “Ready. Help. Go.” Volunteer readiness program to connect Oklahomans to volunteer opportunities in their communities that may be available at a later date.

Human Services