Task force's Birx meets with state officials
TULSA—A leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force met with Gov. Kevin St it ta nd Oklahoma health and political officials Sunday to discuss the state' s response to the pandemic.
Following the event, Stitt told reporters White House Corona virus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx made no recommendations for how Oklahoma could better respond to the coronavirus epidemic.
“There weren't really any recommendations that she made at this meeting,” Stitt said. “We've already taken all of the White House recommendations and rolled out our color-coded maps and given our different counties recommendations.”
Last month, a U.S. House subcommittee said St it t' s administration had ignored most of the recommendations made by t he White House Corona virus Task Force. Stitt previously said the criticism from the Democrat-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis was politically motivated.
Asked about an unpublished White House Coronavirus Task Force report that shows Oklahoma is in the “red zone” for corona virus cases and should take more stringent protective measures, St itt said it didn't come up in the discussion with Birx.
Reporters were not allowed at the round-table discussion held at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences. Birx, who stopped in Oklahoma as part of a sixstate tour to deliver targeted coronavirus guidance, did not talk to reporters before or after the meeting.
Oklahoma Democrats criticized that the event was not more transparent.
House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, tweeted she was“very disappointed that Oklahomans won't have an opportunity to hear this conversation about our state's COVID response.”
The big topic of discussion was preventing COVID-19 outbreaks in Oklahoma as students begin to return to school, Stitt said. The governor reiterated his preference is for schools to have inperson instruction this year.
“We just have to be very cautious as( students) start going back to school,” Stitt said. State schools Superintendent Joy H of meister was in attendance, the governor said.
Birx was complimentary of Oklahoma's college testing plan, Stitt said. That plan has not been detailed publicly, but it involves ensuring college students get tested for t he coronavirus before moving into campus dorms.
Saying Bi rx is a firm believer in local control, Stitt said she didn't recommend a statewide mask mandate.
St it th as refused to implement a statewide mask mandate, saying such an order would be difficult to enforce. But data shows that mask requirements in Oklahoma's two largest cities are contributing to declines in new corona virus cases and hospitalizations.
“Overall, we thought the visit went very well,” St it ts aid .“She was very complimentary of Oklahoma and what we've done.”
Others presen tat the discussion included interim Health Commissioner Lance Frye; Secretary of Health and Mental Health Kevin Corbett; Secretary of Science and Innovation Elizabeth Pollard; First Lady Sarah St itt; U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern; Senate Pro T em Greg Treat, R- Oklahoma City; and Rep. Marcus McEntire, who leads a House subcommittee on health.
Stitt partially responded this week to the congressional inquiry from the Select Subcommittee on t he Coronavirus Crisis that requested documents pertaining to Oklahoma's handling of the COVID19 pandemic and recommendations Stitt's office received from the White House task force.
The governor previously said he would respond in more detail following Birx's visit.
Stitt's initial response did not address why Oklahoma has not adopted the stronger C OVID19 prevention measures recommended in the unpublished task force report. Those recommendations include mandating face masks, closing bars and gyms and strictly limiting gatherings.