June 23, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
A death due to COVID-19 is being reported out of Kiowa County.
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s daily report, this is the first death due to the virus in that county. The department lists the death being a male in the 50-64 age group. Kiowa County now has no active cases of the virus.
Jackson County saw two cases recover when compared to Monday. Currently the county has four active cases. Custer County still has 11 active cases. Beckham and Greer Counties have two active cases each. Washita County still has one active case remaining.
The death in Kiowa County was one of two being reported by health officials. The state’s death count now stands at 371.
There was another increase of active cases in the state when compared to Monday, but not as dramatic as the state has seen lately. There are 2,769 active cases of the virus in the state, an increase of 53 when compared to Monday.
Hospitalizations, however, saw a sudden increase. There are a reported 68 additional hospitalizations in the state. That puts 265 Oklahomans in hospital beds due to COVID-19.
Public Affairs Officer for the Oklahoma National Guard Colonel Tom Ivester, who has been a part of Governor Kevin Stitt’s task force addressing the pandemic, explains why there has been a spike emerge in the state in recent weeks.
Ivester says he expects his current deployment with the Oklahoma National Guard to wrap up this week. He says the National Guard will hand over their responsibilities to civilian agencies. Ivester added that if a spike returns in the fall, the National Guard could be re-deployed to address the situation.
