Thread by @CathJSweeney

The Oklahoma State Department of Health is holding a media availability right now. Commissioner of Health Lance Frye went back over their Thanksgiving recommendations. Now Deputy Commissioner Prevention & Preparedness Travis Kirkpatrick is giving a testing update.

Kirkpatrick: The public health lab, in November, processed more than 132,000 tests. We've done 500,000 cumulatively since May, so that highlights the growth in tests. "We've seen some appetite increased for testing."

Kirkpatrick: There are different types of tests that people can get. There are the PCR tests, the ones that go way up in your nose. They're the ones that take a few days. They're the gold standard. The antigen test is quicker but not as sensitive.

Now we're talking about treatment. Specifically, monoclonal antibodies. Kirkpatrick is talking about distribution.

fda.gov/news-events/pr…

Kirkpatrick: One of the mitigation strategies the CDC has recommended for staffing in a surge is using asymptomatic positive health care workers in covid wards.

Kirkpatrick: "We decided as a state, we wanted to amplify that federal guidance." This is for emergencies only. We have provided that information to hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Kirkpatrick: We want this to be used for the minimum amount of time necessary. We feel it's important to reiterate that we've talked with the regional medical response system. They've helped with staffing in their regions. This could keep ICU beds from being unstaffed/unusable

@KOCODillon If people don't heed your advice and have big gatherings, what is your fear regarding hospitalizations and case counts in a few weeks?
Frye: This is respiratory, so when we have groups indoors "The opportunity for spread is exponentially increased." That's our fear.

@VincentHillKJRH would you recommend people get tested before traveling?
Frye: Absolutely. "Get a test before you leave. Get a test when you get there. Test often." But don't let testing give you a false sense of security. Three days after exposure, you're not going to test pos

@TiffanyAlaniz: In North Texas, they've hit 15 percent of hospitalizations and said that will trigger more mitigation measures. We have six regions that have been at more than that for 8 days, and OKC and Tulsa have been for two weeks. What is our strategy?

Frye: We encourage local businesses and municipalities to do whatever they need to do. We are also looking at some modeling. I'm not a huge fan of modeling. But we're looking at two different models right now. There should be stress points, like triggers.

Frye: We're working with the hospitals and asking if they have everything they need. We used to have 900 people in the hospital, and that was so many. Then we had 1,000, now about 1,500. But they're flexing and handling the surge.

Kirkpatrick: No nurse should ever be forced to work when positive and asymptomatic. We do not want to hear of any evidence of any providers working unwillingly when they're asymptomatic. "These need to be volunteers." But contractors working week to week can't miss 2 weeks.

Frye: We have some people that have just worked 24/7 getting this numbers and data out every day. They need a holiday as well. We've decided to go to an automated system for Thanksgiving Day that will give us a number, not an exact number of cases. That will have duplicates in it

Frye: They will be an overestimate, but they'll be adjusted the next day. It'll give everyone a number for the day, a temperature check.
Jennifer Monies of Saxum, the firm managing covid messaging, says the media will be getting materials explaining the process.

@ashleyvholden: We're hearing of nurses concerned about working with Covid-positive staff. What requirements are there to protect them?
Kirkpatrick: This is a new practice. "There's not a whole lot of 'do this, not that.'" We're leaning on the providers to create their own rules.

@ashleyvholden: We're hearing from nurses who feel like their employers aren't protecting them, but don't know who to call. How can they communicate effectively with you guys?
Frye: We met with several health associations about this. We have the same goal.

Frye: "This isn't new." For hospitals at least. If nurses or staff are working in a covid ward, they're surrounded by positive people. They have PPE for that. There have been guidances all along on how to have asymptomatic staff work safely. This is new for long-term care.

@ChrisKPolansky We're talking about mitigation efforts after the holiday spike. Do we have mitigation plans for the strained staff?
Frye: We still have more to do. We're trying to see how we can help them from the state level, how to give them support.

That's a wrap.