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The OU’s COVID chief said the Tulsa region may soon increase levels of the state’s hospitals contingency plan system.
Dr Dale Bratzler said it appears Oklahoma is experiencing a new spike in COVID-19 infections in Oklahoma and this could be of concern for some hospitals.
The Tulsa region remains at Level 1 of the state’s hospitals emergency response plan, meaning less than 15% of beds are reserved for patients with COVID-19. The Oklahoma City area is at Level 3 – meaning between 20% and 39% of beds have COVID-19 patients.
Under level 3, hospitals have the option to reduce elective procedures by 50%.
Bratzler said it is “likely” that Tulsa will also reach Level 3 if COVID-19 infections do not slow down soon. He also said that with so many people in intensive care, we will likely continue to see deaths.
“It is clear that the pandemic continues,” Bratzler said. “We are by no means out of the woods. We are seeing considerable community spread of the virus. The number of new cases has increased dramatically and the percentage of positive tests is very high right now, so we will continue to see a number fairly high cases. “
There is, however, some positive news on the vaccine front on Monday.
Pfizer has announced that its vaccine appears to be 90% effective and may have it approved within the next two weeks.
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