Oklahoma Announces Changes To Hospital Surge Plan For COVID-19

Governor Kevin Stitt and other state health leaders announced a new modified hospital surge plan Thursday morning.

On Thursday, the state reported 643 patients hospitalized statewide, which has remained fairly steady for several weeks.

The Governor said hospitals have space available, but as this pandemic continues, they're starting to see specific hot spots in the metro areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Related Story: Gov. Stitt, Health Leaders Upgrade COVID-19 Hospital Surge Plan

As most of the hospitalizations statewide are in these two areas, the state is now focused on providing resources for them.

The state will add 125 beds in Tulsa and 215 in the Oklahoma City area.

Lt. Col. Matt Stacy with the Governor's Solution Task Force said the goal is to still treat patients in their home regions, but this extra capacity will help if the state sees a spike or rural patients need more specific care.

"Recognizing that a large majority of our hospitalizations are still confined within the metro areas,” said Stacy.  “We went through a collaborative effort with the Oklahoma hospital association, the hospital CEOS, and exhausted work to develop a region-specific progressive surge plan specifically focused on these two major metro areas.”

The Governor said since June 1st, 99.3 % of patients statewide have recovered.