Luther – Have you been watching the numbers daily? For several days, the Oklahoma Covid-19 death count has hovered under 100 cases. Today, it jumped over it to 108 deaths.
- One in Tulsa County, a female in the 65 and older age group.
- One in Major County, a female in the 18-35 age group.
- One in Mayes County, a male in the 65 and older age group.
- One in Pittsburg County, a male in the 65 and older age group.
- One in Pontotoc County, a male in the 65 and older age group.
- One in Rogers County, a male in the 65 and older age group.
- One in Wagoner County, a female in the 65 and older age group.
- One in Washington County, a female in the 65 and older age group.
- One in Osage County, a female in the 65 and older age group.
These are the numbers that the Oklahoma State Department of Health distributes, somewhere around 11 am daily. The total Covid-19 count on Tuesday, April 14, stands at 2,184. That’s a 115 case increase from Monday.
Are you following those daily numbers? The Luther Register has pushed out the number either on social media or in a quick update article here on the website almost every day doing a simple cut-and-paste of the OSDH release. It is an effort to trot out the information to you as soon as possible. That might not be effective or necessary for you, dear readers. Because almost every local media outlet does the same thing. It’s really not a race. The data is readily available here for anyone to see and analyze.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health also offers more data but it is a bit more of a process to find. It’s under the coronavirus.ok.health.ok.gov website under the NEWS tab, under EXECUTIVE ORDERS. Find it here. This data offers more demographic data (each number representing a precious life) and information such as the number of total hospital beds available, and the actual number of hospital beds with Covid-19 patients. As of Monday, April 13, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized was less than 200.
What coronavirus resources do you watch and trust?
The State of Oklahoma has also unveiled a new resource website that collects other information about unemployment, business services and social services. Visit that website here.
Thirty Days of Mitchell Talks
Today marks 30 days of the Mitchell Talks daily FB Live broadcast, “providing a running update on crucial information and engaging with the public at a time of rampant misinformation.” Thirty days. We’ve been living this way for a month. Does it seem like it’s been that long, or longer?
Go to the Mitchell Talks FB page and find the notification to “see first” so you won’t miss when a new show pops up. Sidebar, that’s part of the advantage of digital media – whether it’s Scott Mitchell’s work, or independent digital only news sites like OKC Free Press, a fellow Oklahoma member of the national group, LION (Local Independent Online News) and yours truly, The Luther Register.
As independent digital publishers, we share when we have a new story that we’ve researched, fact-checked, written, and hustled for photos – sometimes all by ourselves, and without an editor to check our typos, run-on sentences, and occasional nonsense. It happens. (By the way, please feel free to let me know when you see an error, preferably NOT right out there in the open on social media! But still, I always appreciate the help and have developed some thick skin.) Sometimes we might post ten stories a day, or ten a week. We are not filling space and time with news, we are sharing information as it comes. New digital media is not bound by column inches to print, or a timeslot on a tv or radio schedule. There are plenty of struggles operating a digital independent media offering, but why dwell on that now? Plenty of us are struggling financially right now. Maybe all of us.
Of special note, the producer of this new media offering from Mitchell Talks is Joey Mitchell, a 2019 graduate of Luther High School. The graphics including the logos, photos, information, links, audio mixing, camera shots and more are all Joey Mitchell’s work. The streaming struggles with connectivity are not his fault however! The Mitchells are champs at staying cool under the pressure of live streaming and technical issues. They trust their growing audience, in the hundreds of thousands, will be there when the signal gets out loud and clear, because the information is important and his audience is dedicated.
Another perk for you to support independent media – we are closer to our readers, watchers and supporters. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. You know us, and if you want to find out something or have a tip – you can reach us with a text, call or email. Use that to your advantage.
