Oklahoma Lawmaker: 'Oklahoma Isn't Prepared For Ebola'

An Oklahoma state representative and doctor said he doesn't think Oklahoma is prepared for Ebola.

Mike Ritze, a Broken Arrow lawmaker, said Governor Mary Fallin should declare a state health emergency.

Considering he's a fellow Republican, Representative Ritze is not holding back, saying Fallin is not preparing the state for an Ebola outbreak.

When asked if Oklahoma could accept Ebola patients or if the state was prepared, Ritze said no, not unless Fallin declares a state of catastrophic health emergency.

10/9/2014 Related Story: Broken Arrow Lawmaker Wants State Health Emergency Due To Ebola

"Are we prepared if we do see someone that is high suspect for the virus, are we ready to quarantine them? Are we ready to isolate and quarantine them," Ritze asked.

Fallin can order quarantine without invoking the Catastrophic Health Emergency Powers Act, which would require the state secretary of health to create an emergency medical response plan.

Ritze says Oklahoma doctors, paramedics and emergency responders have not received direction on how to handle a case of Ebola.

"It caught the Texas people flat-footed,” he said. "We want to make sure that we're really on top of this and we're proactive and not retroactive."

Fallin's office said Oklahoma is ready should someone get sick, and any declaration now would be premature.

She released a statement saying "If and when a state of emergency is declared, we want citizens to pay attention and understand the risk is real and immediate."

Ritze said he hopes this gets people thinking about immigration. He said our borders are porous and we don't know who is coming in or whether they have diseases like Ebola.