Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced to reporters on a Zoom conference call Wednesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the first governor to do so.
“I feel fine,” the 47-year-old governor said, describing his symptoms as minor despite feeling “a little bit achy.”
Describing how he was tested Tuesday after developing symptoms, he also said he “was pretty shocked that I was the first governor to get it.” He explained he will be self-isolating and working from home, and that none of his family members tested positive after being tested themselves.
BREAKING: Governor Kevin Stitt just announced that he has tested positive for the #coronavirus @koconews pic.twitter.com/ZEBIiONLjy
— Jason Hackett (@KOCOJason) July 15, 2020
“I want to use my story to remind Oklahomans that if you aren’t feeling well, we want you to get tested,” Stitt advised but maintained that his state would not require anyone to wear a face covering.
“We respect people’s rights … to not wear a mask,” Stitt said. “You just open up a big can of worms.”
“A lot of businesses are requiring it, and that’s fine,” he continued. “I’m just hesitant to mandate something that I think is problematic to enforce.”
Wishing Stitt “a speedy recovery,” Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell tweeted, “Following CDC guidelines, I will be tested for COVID-19 after learning that Governor Stitt tested positive. While we wait on the results, I am quarantining and working at home, with no symptoms at this time.”
I wish Governor Stitt a speedy recovery and look forward serving with him upon his return to the Capitol. (2/2)
— Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell (@LtGovPinnell) July 15, 2020
The Tulsa, Oklahoma, area saw a spike in coronavirus cases after President Donald Trump’s most recent rally there on June 20, which Stitt attended without a mask. According to The Associated Press, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Trump’s rally, where thousands gathered mostly without face coverings, “likely contributed” to the surge in the weeks afterward.
Stitt doubted the possibility that his attendance at the Trump rally was to blame for his recent diagnosis. “I don’t think there was any way it was at the president’s rally,” he said. “It’s too long ago.” Stitt is working with contact tracers to determine where he likely came down with the virus.
Oklahoma Health Commissioner Lance Frye backed up Stitt’s claim that the president’s rally took place too long ago for it to have been the place where he caught the virus. “As far as where he became infected, it’s really unknown,” said Frye. “It wasn’t so far back as the rally.”
Wednesday marked Oklahoma’s second consecutive day of record-high confirmed coronavirus cases, with 1,075 new cases, bringing the state’s tally to more than 22,000, according to The Associated Press. The state’s coronavirus death toll is 432.
❗️NEW: Oklahoma reports a record-breaking 1,075 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total and the first daily report over 1,000. pic.twitter.com/nBCqFmSjZ0
— Dillon Richards (@dillonjrichards) July 15, 2020
Earlier this week, the Florida State Health Department revealed that some testing labs in the state had failed to properly report negative coronavirus tests, causing a dramatically skewed statistic of positive coronavirus cases.