Media outlets are confirming that we cannot look to the Oklahoma Health Dept. for the encouraging news of the vast thousands who are expected to fully recover from this year's novel virus, Covid-19.   Just this morning, Ben Morgan of KRMG-Cox Communications said;

​"The state is not tracking recoveries as a person has to have multiple, consistent tests to confirm a recovery. The limited number of testing supplies makes confirming recoveries less of a priority."
This will give us the false and discouraging impression that everyone is falling ill & perpetually struggling for their lives.  It's a disservice not to at least allow primary care physicians to report, then just add a disclaimer that the health dept. has not verified the  recovery.  This is something that the physicians trade associations can and should set up as a public service. It could be set up in 15 minutes, using Google Spreadsheets & Forms.
  Sadly, Oklahomans already have the false notion that when someone becomes infected, they will end up in the hospital (if a bed is available) and probably put on a ventilator. And the experts say that maybe half those on the ventilators will die.  But for at least 80% (given other nations' experiences), the patient will be very capable of home treatment and safe recovery.
  I write this article while checking in daily with family. One of my siblings is suffering in a Seattle apartment, with only telemed consultation and no test. The symptoms are classic covid and very very painful. But not particularly alarming.  Seattle has several hundreds of recovered patients and they are sharing their stories. That's a good thing! Because if the people don't speak up, then all we will hear is the defeatist narrative from our own State Health Department.

  We contacted our friends at KRMG. Russell Mills said he's asking people to reach out to them with stories of the illness and recovery. 
​  In further news, Ben Morgan of KRMG also shared these medical resource status details:

  Oklahoma has a grave medical statistic emerging from the early data on the Covid-19 pandemic.  After 14 days of infection in the state, our patients have died at a rate higher than 46 other states.  15 of our 377 reported cases have resulted in death. Only Vermont, Washington, and Louisiana have a worse death rate.
  In terms of state saturation, Oklahoma is relatively safer than 38 other states. New York, by comparison, has not only a far greater raw number of patients, but more importantly a '27-times-higher' saturation (per capita).  Imagine if your square mile around your residence had 27 times as many infected patients. That means your own infection is far more eminent. 
  For Oklahoma's public health authority, this has to be a very troubling reality. If Oklahoma has just a relative few cases, but we're losing them at a rate which is 150% higher than our national average. 
  Clearly, the data is hitting our medical providers like a sobering slap. Our state is now creating 2 specialty hospitals just for Covid-19 patients.

  Beloved Oklahoma statesman, Dr. Tom Coburn passed away this weekend. He was 72.  Coburn has battled cancer multiple times in his life, since even before he was first elected to congress in 1994.
  A family physician from Muskogee, Coburn was the first Republican elected from that Eastern Oklahoma district.  Coburn served as a conservative with values reflective of both Democrats & Republicans.  He refused to attend most partisan conventions and he openly defied national leaders who lacked fiscal restraint in his own caucus.
  He continued to practice medicine while in congress, & had to fight bureaucratic red tape in order to remain a family doctor.

  In a surreal development which most folks in the 1990s would never have dreamed of, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction called on the State Board of Education to adopt a new policy for 'Distance Learning' which directs all school districts in the state to close their existing campus classrooms and provide computers & internet resources for families to receive instruction and complete classwork 'virtually'.
 It is the social spread of pandemic disease which brought about this radical change of course.  Last week, virtual charter school parents became outraged to find that Superintendent Joy Hofmeister ordered virtual school teachers to stop providing phone assistance to the 35,000 students in 6 state funded virtual charter schools. Epic is the largest, and currently ranks as the 3rd largest school district in the state, growing an average 35% per year for each of the past 8 years.
  Parents who already were overseeing their children's daily online instruction were furious to find that the State Board of Education demanded their kids stop learning, for no other reason than "to support a unified solution". Pressure mounted when SoonerPolitics and other media outlets started demanding answers. Lawmakers and local leaders added their voice to the call for a return to the education which Oklahoma taxpayers are paying for.
​

 In a world where government dictates who lives or dies (through socialized medicine resources), The key factor seems to be how much  the national government has prioritized  preparedness for intensive care unit (ICU) capacity. 
  The two nations with the most ICU resources are the USA and Germany.  But the USA is not a fully socialized medicine society, so a person's wealth & health insurance become a factor.  An insurance company can become the 'death panel' that some European governments have already become.
  We took last night's updated data from the Johns Hopkins global statistical spreadsheets, for this set of comparisons of how the Covid-19 coronavirus is impacting the nations.  Our study focuses on the top 10 nations impacted. 

  Oklahoma Governor, Kevin Stitt, declares;

•  an end to gatherings of more than 10 people, in 19 affected counties, in Oklahoma.  Churches can meet, but with only 10 attendees in a place.
• He ordered several classes of industry and services to cease for 21 days. You can get your car painted at a body shop, but you can't get a tattoo on your ankle.
• He ordered elective medical and dental procedures to stop, because of a supply shortage on protective equipment like masks and gloves.  Asked if selective abortions are banned, Stitt declined to give a definitive answer.

  We're posting the press statement from the Governor, and the list of 19 counties getting additional restrictions on constitutional rights.
  This is a definite move to take over the medical field and shut down some medical services just because they may use some medicines, supplies, & personal protective equipment(PPE) that he wants available at certain clinics and hospitals.

  The state-run socialized health care authorities in Italy have now directed physicians not to put anyone over 60 years old on one of the rationed ventilators.​

  OurWorld Data has taken a mountain of recent medical and research data from the combined global efforts to deal with a global pandemic, the Covid 19 Coronavirus.
  We're publishing a few highlights, but it's well worth the time to read the volumes of data and analysis. 
  The most promising data is that 95% of people who've contracted the virus were able to deal with it in a home setting, with common therapies and medications to alleviate the worst discomforts.
  The remaining 5%, on the other hand,  will need the community medical resources in order to adequately address the critical threat. More than half of them will be successful.  
  Please read the report; Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – Statistics and Research.  And download the database, if you wish to crunch the numbers further.

If you want to study raw data, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has daily updated totals. The World Health Organization is no longer trusted by OurWorld, for statistical reporting and comparison.  Johns Hopkins is the only statistical compiler which attempts to report deaths and death rates.

  We apologize for the clinical jargon which is lost on many of us that don't need to use such 'shop talk'. It's our hope that better mass communicators will publish an accurate rewrite of these facts in a manner that the broader public can gain better insights and comprehension from.

  Just 24 hours after sharp criticism came in from parents and community leaders, the State Department of Education relented on Epic Virtual Charter School's request to let their teachers provide telephonic instruction to families enrolled in home-based virtual charter schools.  The retraction of the department's earlier prohibition on virtual instruction also allows innovative local school districts to launch and bolster their own online instruction options.
  Local school superintendents had complained in a conference call to State Superintendent, Joy Hofmeister, that Epic might gain massive new enrollees if they remained in session while the old-mode of instruction was shut down for health concerns.
  Hofmeister is quoted as responding with a statement of agreement, saying; "..that would be essentially 'price gouging' [if Epic continues, uninterrupted].
  But Hofmeister's narrative of 'all districts adopting a uniform approach to the crisis' is viewed by critics we spoke to, as just a thinly veiled effort to suppress children from getting an education because it would undermine the old-guard institutions.

On Monday, State School Superintendent, Joy Hofmeister ordered all schools to suspend instruction at least until April 6th. While the schools are observing the planned Spring Break this week, the real impact starts on Monday, when parents were planning to have their kids back in the classroom
But for the 30,000+ kids enrolled in Epic Virtual Charter School, the cessation is completely unnecessary, unproductive, and costly to families. Parents enrolled their kids in virtual charters to allow for the special family circumstances, child needs, safer environment, and flexibility.
  Hofmeister has greatly increased her hostility toward virtual charters since winning her final term in office, in November of 2018. She has been predatory toward Epic, in particular. ​

“This requires a statewide answer and we need to be operating together with a uniform approach and with a unified voice,” Hofmeister said. “We want to put safety first and this is an important measure.” 
 No, joy, we don't need to be using a uniform approach. that's a buzz word for 'don't  innovate'. the failures of our 1800s model of instruction are evident in the diminished results. Virtual Charters may be beyond your capacity to comprehend; but get the hell out of our way!

  ​Tulsa Health Department officials confirm a Tulsa County resident has died due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Media reports indicate that the man was only diagnosed yesterday. Nothing about the man's health background is public, as of yet.
KOTV News reports:

• Officials say a man in his 50s who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 17 passed away due to complications on March 18. Officials say an epidemiological investigation is ongoing.

  “It is with great sadness that I confirm that a Tulsa County resident has passed away due to COVID-19,” said Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dart. “This is a tragedy for our community. In these unprecedented times, everyone feels the weight of this loss. COVID-19 has impacted our community on a monumental level, but today I ask you to take a moment to pause and recognize that a family has lost their loved one. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
KOTV also notes;

• The Health Department is not revealing the name of the man at this time. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt released a statement about the death sending his prayers to the family.​

 Former 8-year Oklahoma Republican Senator, Don Rubottom weighed in on yesterday's historic move of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, declaring an emergency and authorizing proxy voting.
  The SoonerPolitics Facebook group is a social media site devoted to a discussion of news & issues printed in the SP media site.
  Don Rubottom's initial reaction to the legislature's unprecedented proxy rule was met with an engagement by members of the House leadership. The primary engagement came from the powerful Majority Floor Leader, Jon Echols, followed by Judiciary Chair, Chris Kannady.

  Some raw data is beginning to be published, about the survivability of the Covid19 strain of Corona Virus. Sadly, it tells us some big discoveries about what we need to survive on a very national scale.
  Yes, we've learned that lung issues and aging are factors deeply impacting our prognosis, once the virus is infecting us. Other immune issues and serious health matters are obviously going to also determine our odds of beating the infection.
  But Italy is a huge case study for the whole world to observe (and pray for). The virus hit the northern parts of Italy, first. they share a border with Germany, but the contrast is extreme.  In Italy, 1 in every 13 patients with Covid19 have died. But in Germany that ratio is 1 in every 386 patients.
   In the weeks to come, we will see better details of what the patient experience is like in the various nations. But it underscores why the US is seeking to slow down the spread, so that hospitals are not overrun. Governments at all levels are scrambling to set up contingencies for a very tough few weeks ahead.