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Quotes of the Day
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“We see wearing a mask and staying away from each other as part of a civic duty – it has nothing to do with politics,” Maytubby said. “This is about caring about the other people around you. At some point, people have to start caring about somebody other than themselves.”
-Phil Maytubby, chief operating officer at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department [The Journal Record]
“As nurses, we believe it is vital that we continue to ask for a statewide (mask) mandate. We would not be facing such a significant shortage of nurses if we could mitigate and control the spread of the virus.”
-Cathy Pierce, Chief Nurse Executive for OU Medicine [The Oklahoman]
“By taking his position not to enact a mandate, the governor is not so much standing on principle as he is standing on people’s graves … Democratic and Republican governors across the nation have enacted masks mandates. Saving lives is a bipartisan issue.”
-The Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, a senior minister at All Souls Unitarian Church [Tulsa World]
“We have a history of resilience in Oklahoma because we have a history of adversity. What this means is that we’re also chasing problems, putting out fires. We’re not doing the prevention work or the universal coverage that we know is what will help all children develop those muscles for resilience so that whatever happens during their lifetime they have the capacity to respond flexibly and with strength and with support.”
-Jennifer Hays-Grudo, director of Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Adversity (CIRCA) in Tulsa [Tulsa World]
“They’re seeing death every day. They’re seeing people die, and, you know, in the past we had one patient dying a week, two patients dying a week. And now, we have four to five dying every day.”
-Dr. Mauoun Tawk of Mercy Hospital describing the draining effect from COVID-19 on hospital staff [The Oklahoman]
“I would be more concerned about what happens after Fiscal Year 2022 than what happens in Fiscal Year 2022. Regardless of the short term issues, we are in for a long recovery over the next five to 10 years.”
-Paul Shinn, OK Policy’s Budget and Tax Senior Policy Analyst [The Frontier]
“There are also people who are very healthy people who get really sick — we just don’t know why yet — until we find out those answers we should all have the compassion for one another to do what’s right.”
-Dr. Jonathan Baldwin, a Muskogee physician speaking about mask mandates [Muskogee Phoenix]
“I think some of the new restrictions that have been put into place may have some benefit for reducing spread of the disease, but quite honestly … I think it’s too little, too late right now.”
-Dr. Dale Bratzler, University of Oklahoma’s Chief COVID Officer, speaking about the state’s virus-related restrictions announced last week [AP News]
“Hope isn’t working. It’s time to get real.”
-Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt calling for residents to undertake a 10-day push to curb the spread of COVID-19 [NonDoc]
“With Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays, Oklahomans must understand the COVID-19 situation statewide. Serious messaging and action are needed from state leadership; recommending Oklahomans wear masks in public settings communicates the current risk level and actions all Oklahomans need to take.”
