Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK) speaks during a roundtable discussion in the White House state dining room on June 18, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | fake pictures
WASHINGTON – Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced Wednesday that he tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first governor since the start of the pandemic to publicly announce a positive diagnosis.
“I was tested yesterday for Covid-19 and the results were positive.” Stitt told reporters. “I feel good; yesterday I felt a little sore.”
The Republican governor said he is currently isolating himself from his family and working from home. He resisted calls to reverse Oklahoma’s current reopening plans, which are being tested by a viral resurgence.
“Backing up and taking shelter in place does not eliminate” the virus, Stitt said, adding that “it is very premature to think of slowing down or going back” on the reopening.
Stitt is one of several Republican governors across the country who have expressed their opinion on whether public health experts’ recommendations for coronavirus safety were really necessary.
During a visit to the White House in June for an event to show governors that they were moving quickly to reopen businesses, Stitt boasted that Oklahoma was one of the first states to reopen.
“We have to learn to be safe and move on,” he said.
Later in the month, with Oklahoma cases already on the rise, Stitt answered a question about a possible mask mandate saying, “I’m always reluctant to order things.”
Instead of strict health rules, Stitt has said Oklahomans “will just have to learn to live with” the deadly coronavirus.
The phrase “learning to live with it” has gained popularity during this latest surge in coronavirus cases across the country, as a kind of alternative theory to aggressive public health action.
Repeated by Trump and other Republican governors, the phrase reflects a direct approach to government intervention aimed at stopping the spread of the virus.
As of Tuesday, Oklahoma had 20,245 confirmed coronavirus cases and 441 deaths from Covid-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Stitt’s diagnosis came several weeks after President Donald Trump held a controversial campaign rally in Tulsa, where Stitt was photographed without a mask along with thousands of supporters of the president, close by, despite warnings from officials at local health that the event could cause an increase in COVID-19 transmission.
Herman Cain, another high-profile Republican who attended the rally, tested positive for the virus on July 1, less than two weeks later. Two days after his diagnosis, Cain’s symptoms became so severe that he was hospitalized. As of Wednesday, the 74-year-old former presidential candidate apparently still battles the disease at an Atlanta-area hospital.
Cain had posted a photograph of himself at the Tulsa stadium surrounded by other participants, none of whom appeared to be wearing masks.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
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