VG)--St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center officials this afternoon announced revision of its visitors’ guidelines. “For the protection of our patients and staff, we have restricted visiting hours to 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will screen all visitors upon entering the facility. Visitation is limited to two adults (18 and older) per patient, per day. If you have a fever, cough, body aches or a sore throat OR have been in contact with someone that has these symptoms please do not visit your family/friend in the hospital. Please call or FaceTime them instead. Visitors will be required to use hand-sanitizing gel (or hand washing) upon entering the facility as well as entering and exiting a patient room. Please call ahead for specific instructions regarding overnight stays in certain departments. We appreciate you helping us keep everyone safe. See our full policy at bit.ly/STM_Covid-19.”
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VN)--Col. Corey Simmons, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base, upgraded the base's Health Protection Condition posture this morning in response to mounting concerns over spread of the coronavirus. Health Protection Condition (HPCON) ratings are similar to Force Protection Conditions, which dictate the security posture on military installations. Vance upgraded from the normal baseline operations to HPCON Alpha, the second-lowest of five HPCON levels. One airmen was quarantined at Altus Air Force Base on Thursday after a presumptive positive test for COVID-19. As of this morning, Vance Public Affairs said their office was not aware of any airmen on the base having been tested for COVID-19, and there currently are no confirmed cases at the base. There are no confirmed cases in Northwest Oklahoma, as of this morning, according to information provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Anyone accessing the base is asked to communicate personal risk, symptoms or questions to the 71st Medical Group at (580) 213-7416 during duty hours and to the Nurse Advice Line at 1(800) 874-2273 after duty hours.
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VR)--The Tulsa Health Department has reported that the man who was the state's first confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus case has recovered. The patient has had two negative tests, which indicates recovery, the department said in a social media post Thursday evening. Oklahoma has had three confirmed cases. So far, officials said, the state Health Department has tested about 100 people for coronavirus. Fifty-eight of those were NBA players and staff who were in Oklahoma City for Wednesday’s game against the Thunder. Two of the players, Rudy Gobert and Donavon Mitchell, of the Utah Jazz tested positive leading the NBA to suspend the regular season.
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JA)--Garfield County will have a new jail administrator effective April 1. Ben Crooks was selected by Garfield County Criminal Justice Authority following interviews last week with four potential candidates. The position has been vacant since August 2019, when then-administrator James Fontaine Jacobs resigned from the position. According to Enid News and Eagle, Crooks said he was a jail administrator previously, before spending 16 years in the private sector as a consultant. During his interview last week, Crooks was offered a brief tour of the facility and an opportunity to speak with staff. Crooks said he doesn't want to enter the new position with any misconceptions and wants to approach the job first by observing, listening intently and learning.
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WD)--If you’re having symptoms of COVID-19, don’t go straight into the doctor’s office, state health officials say. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, county health departments do not offer testing for coronavirus. If you develop symptoms, such as fever, cough, and/or difficulty breathing, and have been in close contact with someone known to have COVID-19 or have traveled from an area with ongoing spread of coronavirus, call your health care provider or COVID-19 hotline at 877-215-8336 for recommendation first. Before going into a doctor’s office, you should call ahead and discuss your symptoms.
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CV)--In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic Northern Oklahoma College and Northwest Oklahoma State University will conduct online classes the two weeks following spring break, March 23 through April 3. Students leaving campus for spring break should take all instructional materials, including textbooks and devices to prepare for distance learning. All NWOSU and NOC campuses will remain open. Faculty and staff should report to work as usual March 23.
Enid Public Schools has canceled out-of-state, school-related travel, according to a news release from Superintendent Darrell Floyd. School-related, out-of-state travel for students and staff has been canceled through the end of March. Travel for the remainder of the school year will be evaluated at the end of March. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State Department of Education is asking students, staff and their families to self-quarantine after spring break if they visit any other Level 2 or Level 3 country. In the meantime, EPS has increased its efforts to disinfect classrooms, bathrooms and other common areas and surfaces of schools.
To help prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19, following these guidelines:
*Wash hands often
*Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth
*Cover your cough or sneeze
*Avoid close contact with people who are sick
*All Oklahomans are advised to take social distancing precautions such as implementing telework and avoiding large gatherings when possible.
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WF)--Coming up this weekend….Kids and teens are invited to take part in “Nerf Wars” this Saturday afternoon from 2:00-4:00 at Champion Park in the 700 block of North 10th Street. The event, sponsored by City of Enid Parks and Recreation and hosted by My Country 103.1 KOFM, is free and open to the public. Participants can bring their own nerf guns and battle it out with their friends, as well as have a chance win some prizes.
Enid Knights of Columbus will host its 18th annual barbecue dinner, 5:00-8:00 p.m. Saturday at the Knights of Columbus building, 1610 W. Willow. The dinner includes all-you-can-eat dine-in, or single-meal carry-out, barbecue pork and beef, cole slaw and beans. Tickets are $9 for adults and $4 for children. Proceeds from the dinner go to charitable organizations, including 4RKids Foundation, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Our Daily Bread, YWCA of Enid, school projects and programs for the developmentally delayed. Tickets can be purchased from any Knights of Columbus member or at the door the evening of the event. For more information, call Al Patocka at (580) 554-4416.
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WW)--City of Enid Engineering officials announced that contractors will be addressing the final phase of construction on the West Willow Road box structure. The box structure is located on West Willow near Prairie View Elementary School just east of North Garland Road. This work will begin Monday. The location will be closed to all traffic until completion. Work is expected to be completed Sunday, March 22. Motorists are encouraged to drive with caution in the area during the work effort.
Residents can sign up for mobile app notifications to get communication about road construction, trash schedules, holiday closings, water outages, and other important events by going to: Enid.org/RequestCenter or by downloading the SeeClickFix app.
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AF)--The fourth annual Enid Author Fest will be 1:00-5:00 p.m. March 28 at the Enid-Garfield County public library. A book sale and signing will be in the first floor lobby. There will be an edible book contest, sticky note short story contest and author panels. A luncheon will be provided for involved authors and their guest. Any author wishing to be involved should go to https://enid.okpls.org/adults/enid-author-fest-call-out, for an application and information. For further questions you can email enidauthorfest@gmail.com.
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