Mitigation measures are still in place in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with the Bartlesville City Council set to review the City’s ordinance during their regularly scheduled meeting on May 4.
“We have received several inquiries from citizens wanting to know if the City ordinance passed by the council on April 6 will still be in effect if or when Gov. (Kevin) Stitt’s executive order expires on April 30,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “The simple answer to that is yes. The City’s ordinance will not expire until May 4, if the City Council does not extend or modify it.”
However, it is possible the governor could extend the State executive order or unveil a plan to lift restrictions in a series of phases. That approach could be taken by the City Council as well, Bailey said.
“This is a situation that requires us to remain open to any number of scenarios unfolding over the next several weeks,” he said, noting that one of the most important factors in loosening restrictions will be seeing the number of new cases stay low.
“Overall, Bartlesville residents and our local businesses have done a good job of implementing the measures passed by the council to help mitigate this situation,” Bailey said. “This is evident in the fact that we are starting to see a flattening of the curve that we’ve all been working towards. If we continue to see low growth in new cases and our hospital stays within their capacity, that will be great news for our community.”
Experts have said care must be taken in rolling back restrictions to eliminate the potential for a second wave of new cases — a situation Bailey said is being monitored on an ongoing basis.
“Of course we will continue to monitor the actions of the governor’s office and heed the advice of the Oklahoma State Department of Health and other medical experts who have access to the information required for the council to make informed decisions that are needed to ensure the well-being of our citizens and community.”
The meeting on May 4 will be via Zoom, and may be viewed on the City’s webcast at www.cityofbartlesville.org.
For Covid-19-related comments and questions, email covid-19@cityofbartlesville.org. To report a violation, see online reporting. For more information, visit the Covid-19 Hub on the City’s website, www.cityofbartlesville.org.