Mayor Breea Clark today announced the next step in Norman’s coronavirus preparedness efforts and signed a Healthier at Home initiative to Reboot Norman. Beginning May 1, this three-phased approach will slowly open Norman businesses and public facilities while continuing to ensure the city’s healthcare system does not become overwhelmed and adequate Personal Protective Equipment remains available to medical personnel and first responders.  

“Over the past month we, along with many other communities around the nation and world, have taken extraordinary measures to counter an extraordinary situation. I have been proud to watch as Normanites come together to support their neighbors and accomplish our goal of flattening the curve in our city,” said Mayor Clark. “Our data shows that our measures are working, we are experiencing a downward trend in the number of new cases and it is time to finish this marathon well and prepare for our future.” 

Since the initial proclamation was enacted, several positive actions and outcomes have been recognized which give the City the confidence to move into a slow reopening.  To date, local healthcare resources are operating with capacity available to handle any sudden surges identified in Norman.  The delivery of PPE has caught up to the ongoing demand.  The State Department of Health has ramped up its “Contact Tracing” capabilities to be able to contact every person who encounters someone who tests positive for COVID-19.  Additional testing capacity now allows for all those persons who have come in contact with a person who tests positive for COVID-19 to be tested, with results available within 6 hours.

These realities set the stage to Reboot Norman. The Healthier at Home plan will be rolled out in three phases, largely in line with the criteria identified in the Governor’s “Open Up and Recover Safely” plan. While goal dates are set, progression through each phase will be determined by meeting specific gating criteria including: 

• A downward trajectory of the three day rolling average of new confirmed positive cases of COVID-19;
• Hospital bed availability of at least 50;
• Adequate COVID-19 test kits are available to test symptomatic residents and those who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive; and 
• A system for contact tracing has been implemented by the State or County to ensure outbreaks can be readily controlled and limited.

Ongoing monitoring of the supply of PPE’s, hospital capacity, new case number surges, and contact tracing capacity to allow for a targeted response to hot-spots and flare-ups during the rollout of each of the three phases will continue for the next several weeks.

Each phase is targeted to last 14 days in order to monitor these criteria as restrictions are slowly lifted. During part A and B of phase one, additional businesses and public facilities will open with restrictions such as strict social distancing requirements, reduced capacities and PPE requirements in place. In the next two phases, guidelines for individuals and businesses will continue to be updated and restrictions raised. The anticipated timeline is: 

• Goal of May 1 – Phase 1A 
• Goal of May 15 – Phase 1B
• Goal of May 29 – Phase 2
• Goal of June 12 – Phase 3
• Goal of August 1 – All restrictions lifted

Additional phases may be developed based on the best data and public health information available at the time. Read the Healthier at Home plan and find more information about requirements for individuals and businesses on the City’s coronavirus website. For questions, or to report a business that is not following the Healthier at Home plan, contact the Action Center at 405-366-5396 or Action.Center@normanok.gov.