On Tuesday, the Oklahoma State Department of Health identified another case of Monkeypox.
So far, health officials have confirmed ten cases of the virus in the state. Four cases are located in northeast Oklahoma, and six others are in central parts of the state.
Symptoms vary and can include fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes, as well as firm lesions.
According to the state health department, symptoms develop about 12 days after infection.
The department urges anyone who could have the virus to seek out a health provider.
The National Weather Service is issuing a Heat Advisory across nearly all of Oklahoma.
Meteorologists say hot temperatures and high humidity could bring heat index figures near 109 degrees resulting in possible heat related illnesses.
Officials are urging people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check on relatives and neighbors. If you do work or spend time outside, try to reschedule strenuous activity to early morning or evening, wear light weight, loose fitted clothing and take frequent breaks.
When it gets too hot, baby Mississippi kites jump from their high-canopy nests to escape the heat. As Oklahomans brace for another round of hot summer days with highs near 100 degrees, these birds continue to show up in droves at a wildlife rehabilitation center.
At WildCare Oklahoma, a wildlife rehab facility in Noble, juvenile kites fill several large kennels. The older juveniles have gray, black and white plumage while the nestlings are fuzzy balls of white. WildCare Director Inger Giuffrida says with the triple-digit heat, it just gets too hot for babies to stay in their nests.
"And because Mississippi kite nests are at the very tops of trees, two things happen: one, they fall a pretty good ways. And then secondly, it can be very difficult to get them back up in the nest," said Giuffrida.
Guiffrida says WildCare tries to renest all baby raptors, but kites nest so high that reuniting them with parents can be difficult. If you find a kite, she says to first see if the parents are around— they could be crying or circling overhead, or may even try to dive-bomb you to protect their babies. Next, call WildCare. If the baby is injured, they will work to get them healthy so they can be reunified or released.
Oklahoma’s State Election Board announced the results of an audit of the June primary earlier this week. The report revealed no evidence of election fraud.
The post-election audit of 36 races in 33 different counties from the June 28 elections found no tabulation errors.
Officials say they did find a couple minor problems related to ballot categorization. But those did not affect the final tally - and by law, the election results could not have been impacted by the results of the audit.
The audit included Election Day, mail-in absentee, and early voting ballots.
The law authorizing the audits was passed in 2019 but had not been implemented until now due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new interim director has been named for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
According to a news release, Samantha Galloway will fill the position following the departure of Justin Brown. Brown, who has been OKDHS’s director since June 2019, will step down from the position on Aug. 19.
Galloway has spent nearly her entire career in human services.
She will serve as interim director until Gov. Stitt names a permanent replacement.
Gas prices continue to fall for the seventh straight week.
According to GasBuddy, about 20 states have seen the average price of gas dip to $3.99 or less.
AAA says the average price for a gallon of regular here in Oklahoma is $3.74.
Analysts say gas prices will likely continue to drop for much of the country.
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