Mar. 9—It was "good news" for the Norman City Council on the downward trend of COVID-19 cases in Cleveland County after a local official provided an update Tuesday.
Dr. Dale Bratzler, the chief COVID officer for the University of Oklahoma, said the risk of infection in the county and in Norman is low. A map coding the level of transmission is green for the county — the lowest risk level.
"The good news is Norman and Cleveland County are doing quite well at this point," Bratzler said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bratzler said residents can move about without masks "routinely."
"Cases have dropped dramatically just as they have in the rest of the state," he said. "About 19 people in Norman are getting infected on a daily basis."
It's a massive drop from when 1,108 cases were reported in the city over a week's time at the beginning of January.
Bratzler reported hospitalizations in the state dipped below 500 with 24% of those in the intensive care unit.
"Today the [state] health department reported 1,600 in the past four days, so we're averaging 400 cases a day, or 15 cases per 100,000 per day right now," he said. "I'm hopeful that those will continue to decline. I checked your [Norman's] hospitalizations and they're quite low at this point."
Bratzler credited the decline in cases to vaccinations and natural immunity from infection, but his optimism was tempered by concerns that a new unknown variant could emerge.
"I did point out a couple of times to the press this week that we've been here before," he said.
Cases were similarly low in June 2021 before the Delta and Omicron variants spread through the nation. He was "fairly confident barring any new variant" that the trend would continue downward.
"It's not going to go away, we're going to continue to see patients getting COVID-19, but cases have come down very, very dramatically," he said.
One challenge remains, though — how they protect the most vulnerable, Bratzler said. People with underlying conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions, lung disease and transplants are at higher risk of serious illness and death, he said. Bratzler urged residents to mask up around those who fall into a high-risk category.
Mayor Breea Clark urged residents to show courtesy and "grace" when encountering someone who is wearing a mask.
"I carry one [mask] with me out of respect to put on when someone else is wearing a mask," she said. "We talked a lot about personal freedom throughout all this [pandemic], but that goes both ways. So, please respect people who are wearing a mask, who might have someone at home who is immunocompromised that they're trying to protect. Let's continue to treat each other with respect and grace as we hopefully find our way out of the COVID-19 pandemic here in our community."
Clark asked about the need for boosters. Bratzler said high risk individuals should receive a second booster, in addition to three shots they initially received while others need only the first two shots and one booster.
Mindy Wood covers City Hall news and notable court cases for The Transcript. Reach her at mwood@normantranscript.com or 405-416-4420.