Tulsa Health Department Encourages People To Stay Safe For Super Bowl Weekend

Super Bowl weekend is here, which means many people will gather to watch the big game. But the Tulsa Health Department

(THD) said you should not let your guard down when it comes to COVID-19.

The THD said even though cases are trending down, the transmission rate is still high in Tulsa County.

Right now, only 55 percent of Oklahomans are fully vaccinated.

According to the latest Epidemiology report, there was more than a 60 percent decrease in cases from last week.

Madison Thomas with the Tulsa Health Department said the numbers could be misleading.

"With the introduction of at-home tests, we are seeing a most likely lower number of cases than what is actually out there, so you can always assume that the number that's being reported out is probably underestimated cases that are out there," Thomas said.

She says the at-home tests could be a useful tool this weekend to make sure you aren’t spreading the virus.

Thomas said with there being holiday-like gatherings this weekend, the test can actually come in handy before the big game starts.

"If you have an at-home test, it would be recommended to go ahead and, even if you are not experiencing any symptoms, if you're going to be around others, test yourself just to make sure that you are a negative and not potentially going to spread COVID when you go to that event," Thomas said.

Thomas said the Tulsa Health Department does not count at home-testing, so she says people should still be taking the virus seriously so there isn’t a huge surge in cases like the one after the holidays.