Oklahoma Watch

As reform efforts take shape and the coronavirus pandemic causes delays within the criminal justice system, Oklahoma’s prison population has steadily declined since early March.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said Wednesday that he has tested positive for coronavirus, a day after the state reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases.

Gov. Kevin Stitt accused employees of the Commissioners of the Land Office of playing politics after his pick to run the agency was approved in a special meeting Tuesday morning where two of the five commissioners were absent. 

Nearly 675,000 Oklahomans cast their ballot Tuesday in an election that will not only have deep ramifications for November’s general election, but also the state’s future. 

Months before the Memorial Day death of George Floyd and the weeks of nationwide protests that followed, Oklahoma’s Legislature had a chance to take up issues that today dominate the headlines. 

Just days after the state health department took down localized COVID-19 data, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter provided health officials with a legal basis for making the information public again.

When a coronavirus vaccine becomes available in the United States, the federal government and states will face a crucial choice: Should all or most residents be required to get the novel coronavirus vaccine? 

A bill that would add four domestic violence offenses to the state’s list of violent crimes is headed for Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk, and indications are he will sign it.

Police in some of Oklahoma’s largest cities are electing to use a softer touch, rather than aggressive enforcement, with state and local business restrictions as Oklahoma gradually reopens amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Medicaid expansion is inching closer to reality in Oklahoma.

Legislative leaders announced a budget deal Monday that includes funding to expand the state’s Medicaid program and extend health coverage to more than 220,000 low-income residents.

Deaths of nursing home residents and staff reached triple digits this week and facility officials say the number will likely continue to climb. But a state legislator wants to allow visitors back into nursing homes as early as June 1.

On the heels of reports about questionable spending on COVID-19 supplies and equipment by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the state attorney general on Tuesday requested an investigative audit of the agency.  

Weeks after mayors and other local officials asked the Oklahoma State Department of Health to release COVID-19 infections and deaths by city, the state began publishing some of that information this week.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit Oklahoma, state officials urged child care centers to stay open.

For the first time, Oklahoma on Thursday released breakdowns of COVID-19 cases and deaths by race, and the data, while incomplete, shows that the disease is killing a disproportionately high number of whites, with blacks the second largest group.

The acting secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office resigned earlier this month, after just nine months in the job.

With a surge in COVID-19 deaths since last week, Oklahoma now ranks 18th highest in the nation in the rate of coronavirus deaths.

Health inspectors cited Oklahoma City’s Windsor Hills Nursing Center last November after a certified nursing assistant was seen not washing her hands before, during or after treating five residents with incontinence one morning.

Each step taken by public officials to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in Oklahoma raises questions about what is banned and what’s just a recommendation.

Many rural communities across the state have been hesitant to implement restrictions or closures because the fast-spreading coronavirus has not yet reached their edges. Meanwhile, some local health facilities are running short of masks, gloves and gowns.