Last week Gov. Kevin Stitt announced plans for reopening of Oklahoma from COVID-19 restrictions. Individuals and businesses are advised to adhere to state and local guidelines as well as CDC guidance regarding social distancing.
Personal care businesses such as hair salons, barbershops and nail salons were allowed to open last Friday. They’re still expected to observe social distancing and take measures such as asking patrons to wait in their vehicles until it’s time for their appointments.
Less publicized was the announcement that state parks and outdoor recreation areas should also be reopened April 24. Elective surgeries were also given the green light.
Beginning May 1, Oklahoma dining, entertainment, movie theatres, sporting venues and gyms can operate using CDC-recommended social distancing and sanitation protocols. Rialto Theatre in Alva isn’t planning to open very soon. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the movie industry has delayed release of new movies. Why pay to show an old movie when few people will be interested in seeing it.
Also on May 1, places of worship can reopen for in-person meetings or worship if they leave every other row or pew open and adhere to CDC recommendations for social distancing and sanitation protocols. Tattoo parlors can also open, but bars should remain closed. It will be interesting to see how many churches decide to open. Many have been posting sermons and messages online while others have been conducting drive in services.
If the hospital and incident rates remain at a manageable level for 14 more days, Phase 2 will begin on May 15. Events such as sports activities, funerals and weddings will be allowed during this phase. Bars will also be allowed to open with limits. In all cases, social distancing is still to be practiced along with sanitation guidelines.
Even in Phase 3, tentatively set to begin June 1, visits to senior care facilities and hospitals will be prohibited. People at increased risk to coronavirus infection such as people over age 65 or those with compromised immunity, are still advised to stay home through Phase 2. For more information, go to okcommerce.com/covid19/.
April Showers Parade
The COVID-19 restrictions must be particularly difficult for those confined to nursing homes. They’ve been without visitors for several weeks, and won’t be able to see their families and friends for some time to come. This Thursday, an April Showers Parade is being organized for residents at Beadles Nursing Home in Alva. Everyone is encouraged to drive by the nursing home at 909 Noble St. at 6 p.m. waving umbrellas and parasols. Signs showing encouragement are also welcome. Hopefully the parade will put some smiles on the faces of nursing home residents and their caregivers!
I’m glad to be living in this area where confirmed cases have been sparse. However, there have been lots of reports of people without symptoms who have tested positive. Since one must have symptoms to be tested in most cases, there could be a number of symptom-free individuals spreading the virus without realizing it.
We still need to wash hands with soap and water, avoid touching the face, disinfecting frequently-used items and surfaces and consider wearing face coverings in public. Please stay home and call your doctor if you feel sick.
Spring Clean-Up
Spring is traditionally a time for house cleaning and getting rid of unused items or junk. As advertised in last week’s Newsgram, Alva had three roll-off containers placed around town on Saturday where people could get rid of stuff. I heard they had to dump all the containers mid-way through the day so I guess it was successful.
I had a couple of items I thought about dumping but didn’t get around to it. Instead, I got rid of smaller things. I found a thick book about Windows 98 that probably isn’t helpful to anyone and a five-year-old camera supply catalog. There was a stash of music cassette tapes that I haven’t even looked at in years. Not sure I even have a cassette player anymore. I went through several stacks of papers, discarding some and organizing others into file folders. My trash container was more filled up for the Monday pickup.
Census 2020
According to the Census 2020 map Monday afternoon, only 48.1 percent of Oklahomans have responded to the census. The majority, 37.6 percent, did so through the internet. In Kansas, 48.1 percent have filled out their census form.
Woods County has a 45.8 percent response rate with 35.5 percent of those via the internet. Alfalfa County has a 36 percent response rate but only 16.7 percent were done on the internet. The other two methods are by phone or by sending in the paper form.
Barber County, Kansas, shows a 48.1 percent response to the census, with 16.1 answering via the internet.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the census has delayed the in-person census visits until June 1. They have delayed hiring census workers and training them. So far they hope to start sending out census workers during June. They will be leaving paperwork at the door for people to fill out instead of trying to talk to you in person.
The census count is very important to the future of Oklahoma in many ways. Every person who doesn’t complete a census form costs the state an estimated $1800 in funding per year. The census is used in qualifying cities and counties for grants. The census is used in determining funding for schools. In addition, the new census figures will be used in redistricting for political offices, both federal and state.
As I’ve said before, it took me about ten minutes to complete the census online. The most difficult question for me was deciding my ethnic heritage.
If your census form is still lying around, please take time to fill it out. Or go online at http://www.2020census.gov.
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