OU Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler discussed dropping cases and hospitalizations, saying COVID-19 could potentially become a regularly occurring virus during his livestream Wednesday afternoon.
Oklahoma has dropped to 21 positive cases per 100,000, according to the New York Times. The seven-day rolling average for new cases reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health is also dropping, from 1,439 cases on Feb. 16 to 832 cases on March 2.
“At the peak of the pandemic — mid-January — we had one day where we were at almost 15,000 cases with the Omicron surge, today we were down to 920 cases,” Bratzler said. “We (have) plateaued with the number of new cases per day.”
He said hospitalizations have dropped “rapidly,” with a two-thirds reduction in the number of people in the hospital. Although cases are dropping, Bratzler said he can’t say yet if COVID-19 is endemic, but does think people should begin to learn how to live with the disease.
“People are (currently) going into public settings and not wearing masks,” Bratzler said. “I think we have to shift some of our focus to identifying people who are at risk of the complications of COVID-19 and helping to educate them about ways to protect themselves.”
Bratzler said COVID-19 treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies and antiviral pills, are available for those who need it that are “very effective.”
“If you have symptoms of COVID, you should get a test, and if the test is positive and you have risk factors for severe disease, we actually have treatments,” Bratzler said. “We can use it now to keep you out of the hospital or keep you from having complications.”
