Senate Democrats call for further action by Governor Stitt on COVID-19 in nursing homes

OKLAHOMA CITY – On Friday, Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, sent a letter on behalf of the Oklahoma Senate Democratic Caucus to Gov. Kevin Stitt urging him to take further action on COVID-19 in nursing home and long term care facilities.

Office of the Governor

The Honorable J. Kevin Stitt

Governor, State of Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Capitol

2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.

Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Dear Governor Stitt:

We are writing to follow up on your commitment to test all Oklahoma nursing home staff and residents for COVID-19 by the end of May. On May 6^th, Secretary of Health Loughridge reported that 12,250 specimens out of about 31,500 total residents and staff at nursing homes in the state had been tested so far. We respectfully request that your administration provide the Legislature with updated testing numbers and a report on progress toward completing testing by the end of this month.

We also request a plan for repeated and ongoing testing in nursing homes and long term care facilities. As you are aware, more than half of Oklahoma’s COVID-19 deaths have occurred at nursing homes and long term care facilities and people connected to these facilities account for around one in five of Oklahoma’s positive COVID-19 cases.

Finally, your executive order limiting visitation to nursing home facilities expires on May 30^th. We urge you to put forward a clear and workable plan to safely allow families to resume visitation to their loved ones who reside in these facilities. Our caucus stands ready to work with you and your administration on this important matter.

Thank you in advance for your attention and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Kay Floyd, Democratic Leader, and the

Oklahoma Senate Democratic Caucus