Tulsa Mayor Says Safer-At-Home Order Will Expire May 1

Mayor G.T. Bynum said he is allowing the safer at home order for most Tulsans to expire next Friday, May 1st.

The city will then follow federal and state guidelines, set in motion by Governor Stitt's three phase plan earlier this week.

So that means, starting next weekend, restaurants can allow in person dining and movie theatres, gyms, places of worship and sporting venues can all reopen if they follow CDC recommended social distancing and cleaning protocols.

Most of the cities surrounding Tulsa, including Owasso and Broken Arrow, canceled their stay at home orders a week early to allow personal care businesses like hair salons to reopen today.

But here in Tulsa, they remain closed.

Today, Bynum praised Tulsans who have sacrificed so much to get through this, but said their data shows they do not 100 percent meet the White House Guidelines to fully reopen because the numbers here are trending up and they do not have evidence of a 14 day decline in cases.

Even though statewide, Governor Stitt said the numbers have been trending down since April 7th, using a 7-day rolling total.

Bynum said it would be futile to ask Tulsans to keep their businesses closed while so many surrounding communities are opening back up.

"Because of the state government's initiated rollback, and the willingness of other communities in the region to follow it, we should expect more people to come in contact with one another and we should expect the virus to spread at a more rapid rate through our metro area," said Bynum.

Bynum still encourages Tulsans to wear facemasks when out in public.

He's asking employers to maintain work from home policies when possible.