As confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to attack our nation, we are continuing to see death as it sweeps across the nation. Cases in the United States, as of Monday, Nov. 23, has reached a staggering 12,266,849, claiming over a quarter of a million lives, 256,782 to be exact. It is reported that Oklahoma alone is seeing over 3,000 cases a day now and with the holidays upon us, that number is expected to increase dramatically. The confirmed cases in the state is now sitting at 177,784 with 1,649 deaths reported. Creek County has now reached 2,429 cases and 44 people have lost their life. Bristow has seen one more death over the weekend, bringing the death total to 10 and increase of 24 confirmed cases since Friday, Nov. 20. Bristow now stands at 338 confirmed cases since March.
Thirty-five of the 42 Tulsa County Zip codes are in the red, meaning they are in the severe and uncontrolled COVID-19 spread or the outbreaks are present and worsening and contact tracing strained or exceeded. The number was 22 a week ago.
Hospitals are strained and it is almost inevitably going to overload the hospitals in Oklahoma in the relatively near future. Oklahoma hasn't yet fully committed to fighting the human, social and economic damage wrought by the virus. Our leadership has largely relied on federal action, pleas and hope but time is running out on all three.
A lot of area schools are going back to virtual learning, until after the holidays, as the virus is continuing to go through the school systems. Bristow Public Schools is continuing to do the very best to keep our area children safe from the disease. According to the schools website, which the school updates regularly so parents can track what is going on in the schools, Edison Elementary has two staff members and 12 students who are under close contact quarantine. Collins Elementary has one staff member and 13 students who are under close contact quarantine while Bristow Middle School has had one positive confirmed case with one staff member and seven students under close contact quarantine and Bristow High School has had two positive confirmed cases with two staff members and 32 students under close contact quarantine. There has been zero cases or quarantines in the maintenance and transportation departments. Altogether, Bristow Public Schools has 1,401 students with 217 staff members. The school has worked hard at trying its best to keep the number down and is reporting a total of three confirmed positive cases and 70 under close contact quarantine.
With announcement earlier this month that two large pharmaceutical companies have developed an effective COVID-19 vaccine and now one more, AstraZenneca, announcing this weekend that it too has developed a 90% effective vaccine, Oklahoma and other states across the nation are ramping up plans to distribute millions of doses of the potentially life-saving vaccine in the coming month.
Until that time, with the enormous increase in cases that are being seen in the community and across the state, it is so very important that we each do our part in helping control the spread of this deadly virus.