Tulsa City Leaders Encourage Masks, Vaccinations As Cases Rise Statewide

Tulsa County leaders make a plea for more people in the county to get vaccinated for COVID-19 but, the Tulsa Health Department provided some good news during their update on Thursday.

They say in the past week and a half COVID-19 numbers are down slightly from what they were previously, but they are still elevated. Thursday, Tulsa Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart, Mayor GT Bynum, an ICU doctor and others provided an update on the virus in Tulsa County.

Dart says the only age group seeing an increase in the past week are babies and children up to 4 years old. Tulsa County residents 18 to 34 still account for the most cases county-wide though. All speakers emphasized getting vaccinated against COVID-19 because they say that is the main way we can get past the pandemic.

Another topic was masking.

City councilors have pushed back a vote on a potential mask mandate until next Wednesday. Mayor Bynum says there are challenges when it comes to a mandate but he says he’s starting wearing one again.

"The question as Dr. Dart just pointed out is when you bring up a mandate and utilize police powers to enforce that city-wide,” said Bynum. “How does that change the dynamic? And do we even have the capacity to do that? We have about 30 fewer officers than we did a year ago."

That potential mandate needs 6 votes to pass.