TULSA, OK – Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) hosted a virtual town hall last night with special guests OK Health Secretary Jerome Loughridge, Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Bruce Dart, and OSU School of Health Sciences Professor & Emergency Room Doctor Dennis Blankenship. Over the course of the call, 4,839 constituents participated either on the phone or streaming audio online.

More than 200 questions were asked either through the online portal or on the call. Excerpts from the town hall are below.

Dr. Blankenship on the specifics of COVID-19

“The science is telling us that the virus can survive on surfaces anywhere from two hours to two days which is why disinfecting surfaces is so critical…

“The difficult part of this virus is that the symptoms are similar to other upper respiratory viruses going around this time of year. You need to see a doctor when the symptoms become severe…

“Unfortunately, we don’t have too many weapons to battle this disease yet. The main weapon we have now is prevention. So, staying at home is the main way to prevent the disease…

“Many hospitals are low on personnel protective equipment. The problem is that infected people go five days before showing symptoms. So the question is do we use protective equipment on everyone or try to conserve it in case it gets worse over time?”

Dr. Dart on turnaround time for COVID-19 tests

“We still have a backlog. The problem is we have a lack of test kits. But we have really great news, we’re seeing our capacity grow, meaning our turnaround time will decrease. Right now, it’s three or four days and we’re trying to get that down to 24 to 48 hours.”

Rep. Hern on HR 6201, Families First Coronavirus Response Act

“There is no money in Washington, D.C. It’s our money, taxpayer money, and I think we should be responsible for it and spend money where it’s supposed to go. The original bill 2 weeks before passed 415 to 2 because it was very pointed, there were no outside riders on it, and it was very targeted to help accelerate testing for new drugs to go after the coronavirus. It was also going to facilitate new testing centers and help get new testing equipment manufactured quickly. And then the following week we had something that was very rushed through. It was a 110-page bill that we got at 11:56 at night and had to vote on 12 minutes later. There was no chance to even see what was in it. There were many of my colleagues that voted for it but I told our folks I wanted to read the bill so I can understand what’s in the bill and ask cogent questions because I feel that I’m responsible for taxpayer money. We were on the phone all weekend because there were a lot of things in there that were improper, and the Democrats came back with a 90-page amendment to a 110-page bill before the Senate would even look at it.”

Rep. Hern on “CARES” bill currently in the Senate

“I’ve seen what you’re seeing, there are a lot of things in there that are troublesome. I’ve listened to both sides, as you have, I watched CSPAN this afternoon to listen to both sides talk about what the issues were, and I heard some of the things you said. I wouldn’t want to be talking about emissions right now. I am absolutely for corporations not doing bonuses and not doing stock buybacks – that’s not the proper use of taxpayer money – they can do that on their own earnings but not on taxpayer money, so there are some things we need to look at that are problematic. For instance, again, if we have corporations that want to do business as usual, like payout dividends and still take taxpayer money for these short-term low-interest loans, then I have a problem with that. So, I think we need to focus on the target, the real targets right now are small businesses that are going to start going out of business right and left, we don’t want bankruptcies to exceed what’s going on with the coronavirus and so we have to get targeted. So, I wouldn’t be for any external add-ons to these bills, we need to be targeted directly to this bill. But what we’re talking about right now in the Senate, the bill started out at 1 trillion dollars less than a week ago, and now it’s up to 2 trillion dollars, and the complaint is, there’s not enough money in there. You know, 2 trillion dollars is a lot of money.”

Dr. Blankenship on variables in fatality & recovery rates in COVID-19

“What we’re seeing from the early data from around the country is that the elderly are most at risk and those who have co-morbid diseases – people with cardio vascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory illness, hypertension – those are the people who are most at risk. There still are a lot of other variables that we don’t understand that will become more clear in time. However, we do know that the elderly and those who have other illnesses are more susceptible to this virus.”

Secretary Loughridge on how to donate unused PPE

“Editorially, I would say that Oklahomans are stepping up in this respect. We think our best bet is to have the Oklahoma State Department of Health be the clearinghouse for that. And so, in fact, if we could actually direct that through the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Folks can always, in this context, call-in to State Department of Health, the hotline can actually accommodate these calls and I’ll provide the number now: 1 (877) 215-8336. They’re geared up now not only to accommodate questions about screening but also to direct you to the right people who can help with [donating equipment].”

Dr. Dart on the longevity of COVID-19 threat

“Right now we’re treating this as a seasonal flu because it’s too early to know if when the temperatures go up if the virus will go down like the seasonal flu does. It’s our hope that this is how it will play out, because if it’s seasonal it will at least give the healthcare community time to ramp up testing, therapies and vaccines.”

Secretary Loughridge on where to find the most accurate and up-to-date information on COVID-19

“I know folks are concerned - and where there is concern, worry, and anxiety, that can often breed misinformation. These sources should point you in the right direction:

• Oklahoma State Department of Health
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Johns Hopkins University.”

Rep. Hern on provisions for small businesses impacted by COVID-19

“For most people, it will be easier to go through your local banking establishment and they will be backed by the SBA, so pick your favorite bank that you do business with – whoever you have loans with, who you’re doing your payroll with - and they should have those regulations [from the Department of Labor] by the middle of next week so they’ll be able to start doing those loans. The way it’s being talked about right now, in the third bill, those loans will work like this: the money you use for payroll will be granted to you. In other words it will be just like unemployment would go through the state, but since you keep them employed, you’ll get reimbursed fully for your labor and the remainder of those monies will be used for your operating expenses your leases, your rents, your utilities, insurance – things like that. [Small business owners] are exactly who we’re trying to help – our small businesses represent upwards of 70% of our jobs in Oklahoma. That’s why it’s so important we create hope. I know right now I’m getting a lot of calls that people are giving up and they’re wanting to file bankruptcy and let their employees go, let them file unemployment, but hopefully these regulations will be done sooner than 15 days because I know, when you have no revenue, it’s impossible to stay in business. And you want to do everything you can to stay in business. It’s what you’ve put your whole life’s work in, your blood, sweat, and tears in, and you love your employees, and you want to make sure they get taken care of, and you want to make sure you pay your bills. And so, as the President said, this was forced upon you as a small business owner. The employees out there, we want to make sure they get taken care of. So, we’re pushing hard to try to get these regulations done sooner than 15 days.”