Norman Mayor Breea Clark encouraged Norman residents in a Tuesday Facebook post to follow the new CDC guidelines and to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the Oklahoma State Department of Health indicated a 52.3 percent increase of cases in Cleveland County from the previous week.
The CDC recommended Tuesday that fully vaccinated individuals start wearing masks again in public indoor settings due to a rise in breakthrough infections related to COVID-19 delta variant. It also suggested children wear masks in schools as they start this fall.
According to the OSDH’s weekly COVID-19 report, there is a 67.6 percent increase of COVID-19 cases from the July 11-17 week with the delta variant making up to 62 percent in Oklahoma as of July 27. The New York Times has reported 316 COVID-19 cases in Cleveland County as of July 28 with a seven-day average of 45 COVID-19 cases. Of those cases, 136 were found in Norman.
"I cannot stress enough how important it is to take the Delta variant seriously. Like the rest of the state, our numbers are rising. But unique to Norman and Stillwater, we are about to have thousands of residents return to our community," Clark said in a press release. "I urge all Norman residents to follow the CDC guidelines, mask up and get vaccinated."
The return to in-person education of K-12 schools and OU has raised some concerns to Clark, as she said Norman is “just weeks away from thousands of student-residents returning” due to the low rate of COVID-19 vaccinations in Norman and their unavailability for children under 11 years old.
“I want to commend the University of Oklahoma for participating in the COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge, and I’m more optimistic now than I was last fall given we do have a vaccination,” Clark said. “However, our vaccination numbers are dismally low. Additionally, while vaccines are readily available, children 11 and under are still unable to get this life-saving shot.”
Clark said in an interview with The Daily the “chances of disruption” regarding an increase of COVID-19 cases once Norman students return to in-person classes this fall are greater because the state no longer allows requiring masks in classrooms.
“We all quit wearing our masks for a while,” Clark said. “But I've been wearing mine for over a week now trying to lead by example and I know that other council members are planning to do the same.”
As Senate Bill 658, a measure authored by Sen. Rob Standridge and approved by Gov. Kevin Stitt, went into effect July 1 prohibiting schools from mandating COVID-19 vaccination and masks for students who are not vaccinated, Clark said the only way to protect Oklahoma students from COVID-19 is a declaration of state of emergency by Stitt.
“We are one of eight states in the nation that has a state legislature that took away one of our greatest tools to protect our students sitting shoulder to shoulder in classrooms during a pandemic: masks,” Clark said. “Even if schools wanted to require masks, it is now illegal to do that, and only a declaration of a state of emergency by (Gov.) Kevin Stitt can change that.”
Clark said she hopes Oklahoma adults start masking up and getting COVID-19 vaccinations as the delta variant poses risks to children unable to get vaccinated.
“I had said from the beginning that if this was going after our children and not our elderly, and immunocompromised, people would be singing a different tune,” Clark said. "It is now going after our children. Fortunately, it's not showing to be as lethal as it is with our elderly and immunocompromised."
Clark said the city has not stopped promoting mask wearing and COVID-19 vaccination since 2020 despite the stance of the state. In fact, she said its parks and recreation department is working with hospitals and Norman Public Schools to promote pop-up vaccination clinics at back-to-school nights, high schools and middle schools.
Lastly, Clark said she confirmed with Norman doctors the unavailability of pediatric hospital beds in the state. Although she said it is usual for medical professionals to “scramble” for pediatric beds during the winter, it is rare to do it in July and August.
“While the pediatric beds may be filled with things like RSV and flu, it doesn't change the fact that as numbers continue to increase regarding COVID-19 in our state, they will make it harder to find beds for our children with COVID-19 who need to be hospitalized,” Clark said.
The Owasso Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine released a statement clarifying that the scarcity of pediatric beds is due to Respiratory syncytial virus and other illnesses and injuries, yet it encouraged people to get vaccinated to prevent COVID-19 hospitalization as the Delta variant continues to rise.
As Clark reflected on how COVID-19 has affected her 7-year-old son, she invited all Oklahoma adults to think about its educational and emotional consequences on children.
“I have a 7 year old and I refuse to risk his health, so he wears a mask wherever he goes,” Clark said. “We recently had to quarantine from an exposure he had at a summer camp and now he already has anxiety about going into public places. The impact for our students both educationally, if people are now pulling them out of schools because masks can't legally be required, or emotionally is just the beginning.”
“I hope that for the sake of our children, for Oklahoma's children, all adults will mask up.”
Mikaela DeLeon contributed to this report.
