Thread by @CathJSweeney

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt: We are having an update for the first time since July. "That in and of itself says something about the state of COVID-19 in Oklahoma City."

Holt: Many will say their first a-ha moment was in early March. "I hope today to leave you with another a-ha moment." June and July brought a second wave. November has brought a a third wave.

Holt: Over September and October, we saw a gradual rise. Not a wave, but steady growth. Hospitalizations were significantly higher than in the second wave. That's how we entered November. "The tsunami arrived."

Holt shows a graph of new cases and says he hopes this is a wake up call to anyone who hasn't seen it. There has been an increase of almost three times in three weeks.

https://twitter.com/cityofokc/status/1329502466690457606

Holt: LA's new cases per 100k residents dailies is in the 20s. Dallas' is in the 30s. "Our number in Oklahoma City is 57."

Holt: Run the numbers. You have to assume that any room you've been in with more than 25 people in it has had at least one person infected with COVID-19.

Holt: We have lost 408 people in our city. That's fewer than we feared, but each one is a tragedy.

Holt: On average, about one quarter of the metro's hospitalizations come from outside the metro.

Holt: Back to Los Angeles. 11 people for every 100,000 there are hospitalized for COVID-19. In Oklahoma City, it's 35.

Holt: We could treat patients all over the city. "We don't want for space, but we don't have the staff." The number of hospital workers in our city that are quarantined is three times higher than it was in the earlier waves.

Holt: "We each owe an obligation to these health care workers. We each owe an obligation to our children, who can't be in the classroom." I say obligation. Some say personal responsibility.

Holt: "You may think you want to play the odds... You're not pushing your life or your health to the middle of the table."
You're betting our kids' education. You're betting your neighbor's financial stability, or even their lives.
"When you lose your bet, we all pay the price."

Holt: In rowing, there's a term called a power 10. Races are longer than 10 strokes, but you can't ask for a power 1,000. "I'm asking you for the next ten days to take a break from higher risk activities." In just 10 days we went from 300 cases per day in OKC to 800 cases per day

Holt: Oklahoma City Police Department will be enforcing the restrictions on restaurants and bars. We appreciate the governor's decision to implement them. These are the first restrictions since May. It signifies how serious the situation is.

Holt: Bars and restaurants aren't magical places where Covid chooses to spread more. We need to reduce all gatherings. I'm asking for all employers to implement work from home for 10 days where they can. I'm asking for everyone to get takeout.

Holt: Please don't meet your friends at a bar, restaurant, church group, at home, anywhere. "I don't know your friends, but based on the numbers, your friends have the 'rona." Zoom instead.

Holt: "There is no greater challenge in our community this week than COVID-19."

Holt: I'm under no delusion that all of OKC is listening to me right now. We need help getting the word out.

Holt: Not everything has to shut down in the next ten days. If you're engaging in an activity in the next 10 days, if you're distanced and masks, it is less of a threat. "Unfortunately, the joy of an event does not put a forcefield around you."

Holt: To anyone who has a platform, I'm asking you to get the word out about taking a break for 10 days. "We have to work collectively to meet this crisis."

Holt: Of course, this is more difficult with Thanksgiving. "The common practice of the holiday has the potential to be the worst super spreader event." "Don't put 10 people around a table and not expect something bad to happen."

Holt: Take this seriously during Black Friday. No one wants to watch your death reported on that 80-inch TV you got with a Black Friday sale discount.

Holt thanks Oklahoma City-County Health Department executive director Dr. Patrick McGough.

Holt: When bars are a thing again, "I hope Dr. McGough never has to buy his own drinks in this town again."

McGough: Sadly, I want to say the latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report described Oklahoma's spread as "exponential and unyielding." In public health, our No. 1 priority right now is getting people to wear masks.

McGough: 50 percent of COVID transmissions come from people who don't know they have it.

McGough: When considering winter plans, consider whether it's worth 3 weeks in the hospital, or your grandparents' lives. "Trust me, not seeing your family for thanksgiving one year is better than seeing that chair empty the next year."

McGough: Our greatest tools are the 3W: Wash your hands, watch your distance, wear a mask.

Question on compliance, Holt says like other laws, they'll rely on complaints.

Holt: Polling shows 70 percent of our community supports mask mandates, etc. The opponents aren't numerous. "It's a loud minority." We aren't talking to them today. "We don't really need them to get these numbers down." We need the people in the middle.

Holt: I don't know why the whole state wouldn't want the benefits we've seen from our mask mandate. "But that's not my job." I am comfortable speaking on behalf of central Oklahoma. I think we'd support a regional mask mandate.

Wrap on that. Tulsa here in about an hour