Hospitalizations increase, ICU beds not being distributed evenly across Oklahoma

Updated: Oct 13, 2020 / 07:21 PM CDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (NewsNation Now) — Oklahoma City is seeing a hospital bed shortage as COVID-19 cases rise in the area.

NewsNation spoke with Dr. Dale W. Bratzler with the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center about the virus in America’s heartland.

“In the Oklahoma City area, which has the largest population, is seeing the biggest spike in hospitalizations right now,” Dr. Bratzler said.

Dr. Bratzler said the state is seeing “substantial” community spread.

“We have a patchwork of face mask ordinances across our state,” he said. “Some communities have done that, some have not.”

He also said high school and college-aged students have the most cases in the state, but an older population is getting the worst outcomes of the virus.

Oklahoma has had 100,184 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data and 1,104 deaths. The state announced nearly 800 cases in the last day. Oklahoma is not conducting enough tests to get an accurate representation of COVID-19.

Watch the full interview in the player above.