Thread by @TiffanyAlaniz

So while we wait Governor Stitt’s news conference & speculate what may or may not happen....there’s this.👇🏼
Broken Arrow city council member Debra Wimpee will present this tomorrow to council.
BA has 23% positive rate
5th most #COVID19 cases in the state
928 active cases

NEW: 9 Oklahoma Medical organizations urge Broken Arrow city leaders to pass a mask mandate amidst surging cases, hospitalizations and critical bed capacity statewide.
#Oklahoma #COVID19

BROKEN ARROW UPDATE thread
BA City councilwoman Debra Wimpee said I was spreading "fake news" about her presentation to council tonight & that I was "terrorizing" people
My post shared what was on CITY COUNCIL WEBSITE, then removed.
I called Wimpee today to see what was fake

about my Twitter post and how exactly I was "terrorizing" people and to find out if there was anything else she wanted to share with you.
Wimpee says she IS planning to use SOME of this report, data charts. She says her "intent was misrepresented" on the Broken Arrow (MORE)

City Council agenda that was publicly posted on the city's website. Here is the agenda that was later removed from Broken Arrow city's website.
Wimpee told me it was "incorrectly placed on the agenda" and that her words were not put on there about her intent
#Oklahoma #COVID19

Wimpee says her intent is ONLY to use data about masks vs. no maks from this report, NOT the entire thing.
I asked why she would not be using data from CDC, White House Task Force, any state medical official, etc. She said she's free to show any data she wants & the point (MORE

is to have an open discussion about the data-different data.
I assured her I was not reporting "fake news" & that my post simply shared what was on the city's website, but she said it IS fake news because her INTENT was not written on the city council agenda. Her INTENT

IS to share parts of this report but only some data.
Wimpee says she didn't notice the agenda until yesterday afternoon even though it's been posted since last Thursday. She also doesn't appreciate everyone criticizing her about the "fake news."
I asked what she plans (MORE)

to do this evening at the council meeting and she said "our city IS NOT going to mandate masks."
She doesn't appreciate the "threats" and "shaming" Broken Arrow city leaders have received because they DO NOT want to have a mask mandate.
When I asked her what she would (MORE)

say to exhausted healthcare workers across the state and the members of the 9 medical organizations that sent a letter yesterday to BA City Council begging them to pass a mask mandate, Wimpee said it's up to hospitals to increase their bed capacity and they make lots of (MORE)

money on elective surgeries and by having full capacity so if they want a change, they need to stop elective surgeries.
**A note before I finish this thread.....the council meeting is happening now and they're starting discussion
you can watch live
brokenarrow.granicus.com/player/event/6…

Wimpee says she does not appreciate being "misrepresented" on the council agenda or my "fake news" reporting what's on the Broken Arrow City Council website. She says other mayors have "shamed" her, and people have been mean to her. (MORE)
#Oklahoma #Covid_19

Here’s a look at the data and graphs presented to Broken Arrow City Council tonight. Green line shows Broken Arrow new infection rate per 100K residents. Red line shows City of Tulsa rate. (MORE)
#Oklahoma #coronavirus

NOW: The Broken Arrow City Council meeting is happening now.
Councilwoman Debra Wimpee again says hospitals make money from elective surgeries and they can stop them if capacity is an issue. (MORE)
you can watch the meeting live
#Oklahoma #coronavirus
brokenarrow.granicus.com/player/event/6…

Debra Wimpee tells the council that she's seeing that hospitalizations are going down but "the media" is saying they are going up....so who knows what's true.
**for context- Tonight there are 1,434 Oklahomans in the hospital & of those, 447 are in ICU--highest numbers yet.
MORE

Broken Arrow City Councilwoman Christi Gillespie says they want to keep people safe but they want to let people be in charge of themselves & of their own bodies
Gillespie says she's talked with several of the ICU nurses who are her friends & they told her they are ALWAYS
MORE

at capacity so she's confused about why everyone is saying there is a crisis
Gillespie also says she's worn a mask & that she's now having to use an inhaler and she NEVER has before so she assumes wearing a mask caused this.
Right now she's talking about how masks hide smiles

Gillespie says someone who has known her since she was 10 years old told her that if she cares about people, she would pass a mask mandate. Gillespie says that is not how she operates and that person just wanted to have their own way.
(MORE)

Wimpee says she's gotten A LOT of emails from people in Broken Arrow saying they are driving to Tulsa to shop because there is not a mask mandate in Broken Arrow and there is one in Tulsa.
She says the data she's seen shows #Covid_19 rates are higher for people who wear masks

Broken Arrow City Councilwoman Debra Wimpee says she’s gotten hate emails from people saying they can’t believe Broken Arrow is still hosting events and they will have a Christmas parade this year.
She doesn’t understand why people are upset “it’s mind boggling.” (MORE)

Wimpee says the Christmas parade in Broken Arrow will provide joy and it's needed and everyone can be socially distanced and she doesn't understand the hate emails she's getting.
All city council members who spoke about the situation in BA say they're in a DIFFICULT position

and they have ALL received hate emails. They remind everyone they're human & that if you want them to consider your viewpoint, you should consider your approach in reaching out to them.
Several said considering what to do IS NOT EASY and VERY DIFFICULT.
And now, (MORE)

they've moved on to the next items on the agenda.
NO vote on possible mask mandate, but said they will need to make a decision one way or the other at some point.
That's it folks.
@jsdelpilar is at the meeting and will have our reports tonight @FOX23 News. One quick (MORE)

note about my own reporting as Broken Arrow City Councilwoman Debra Wimpee tweeted this morning that I report "fake news" and that myself and others are "terrorizing" people.
I report data from State Health Department, Tulsa Health Dept. and from the White House #COVID19 (MORE)

#Covid_19 Task Force report. When a health expert from a state association has presented data to a city council, I have also shared that with you.
It is never my intent to "terrorize" anyone and like you, I'm also sad the numbers are what they are, and they are the truth.

Tonight, ABC Network News reported live in our state.
A story on their website abt the White House report says...
"In Oklahoma, hospitalizations are increasing week over week, the report said. An increase in cases in the last "two weeks correlate with Halloween and related (MORE)

activities," and "with Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays, Oklahomans must understand the COVID-19 situation statewide."
Again, this is from ABC's website story. Oklahoma journalists do not get to see the White House #Covid_19 report until Wednesday each week. (MORE)

First @HealthyOklahoma gets the report, reviews it for a few days & they release it Wednesdays.
So, ABC network news is reporting White House report says "In Oklahoma, hospitalizations are increasing week over week."
Assuming White House isn't reporting "fake news" (MORE)

and I'll certainly share the report with you tomorrow once the State Health Department posts it.
If you would like to see tonight's hospitalization numbers for yourself, they are here from @HealthyOklahoma (MORE)
coronavirus.health.ok.gov/sites/g/files/…

For context-the White House #COVID19 Task Force first said Oklahoma needs a statewide mask mandate in their report September 13th.
Last week, I shared this with you about how our rates have changed since Sept.13th. So, this data is NOT current but will give you an idea.

Tonight, Owasso City Council passed a resolution "strongly encouraging" masks. It is NOT a mask mandate.
#coronavirus #Oklahoma
fox23.com/news/owasso-ci…

Here is the ABC World News Tonight report they did about the hospital crisis in Oklahoma they did tonight. They were reporting live in Lawton this evening. You can watch it here...
#Oklahoma #Covid_19

https://twitter.com/ABCWorldNews/status/1328890671072124931?s=20