OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A doctor at INTEGRIS Health is urging Oklahomans to not let their guard down as there has been a significant increase of new COVID-19 patients and hospitalizations the past couple of weeks.
On Thursday, INTEGRIS Health announced its hospitals currently have nearly 60 patients with the virus.
For comparison, INTEGRIS officials say their highest hospitalization rate during the initial surge in March and April was 37. Hospitals across the metro are experiencing similar upticks and our neighbors to the south, just in Houston alone, are seeing more than 5,000 new coronavirus cases per day.
“While we aren’t seeing the alarming numbers like our cohorts in Texas, Arizona and Florida,” says David Chansolme, M.D., the medical director of infection prevention at INTEGRIS Health. “We are moving in the wrong direction.”
He says Oklahomans should not take the outbreak lightly.
“The uptick was anticipated. We knew we would see a rise in cases when the state started to reopen, but that doesn’t mean we should throw all caution to the wind,” he said.
Chansolme continues, “We need to continue to practice all the safety precautions we have been preaching since early March. Those include social distancing, staying home if you can, avoiding large crowds and gatherings, wearing a mask when you’re in public and washing your hands frequently.”
He says everyone needs to take personal responsibility for their own actions to “protect the masses.”
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