Gov. Stitt to provide COVID-19 update following new CDC report

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Gov. Kevin Stitt will be in Stillwater Tuesday to provide a COVID-19 update for Oklahoma.

Interim Commissioner of Health Lance Frye, Secretary of Health Kevin Corbett, Oklahoma Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, and Interim State Epidemiologist Jared Taylor are also expected to attend the press conference scheduled for 10 a.m.

The press conference comes after a new Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that has OU Medicine doctors worried about how people are reacting to it.

The CDC's new report shows 94% of people who have died from COVID-19 had underlying health issues, which sounds good for those who are healthy, but OU Medicine says the report doesn't mean people shouldn't take the virus seriously.

Here in Oklahoma, Dr. Dale Bratzler with OU says the percentage is closer to 74%, which is a 20% difference from the national average.

He says the national report could sway people to think they're in the clear if they don't have any health issues right now.

"This disease, COVID-19, has a mortality rate that is six times higher than influenza. It’s very severe, and all I tell people is, you do not want to get this disease and end up in the hospital," said Dr. Bratzler.

Dr. Bratzler says this is still a new disease that doctors are learning about as more people get infected.