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Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt joins KOCO 5 to discuss coronavirus response Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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JASON: TODAY, OUR STATE ESTIMATES THAT OKLAHOMA WILL SEE ITS PEAK HOSPITAL DEMAND ON APRIL 30. OKLAHOMA CITY MAYOR DAVID HOLT SAYS THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE FLATTENING THE CURVE AND AVOIDING THE FATE OF MANY OTHER CITIES. WE’RE JOINED LIVE ON THE PHON NOW BY MAYOR DAVID HOLT. HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DOING THIS MORNING? MAYOR HOLT: EVERYONE ELSE IS ASLEEP. WE ARE DOING GREAT. WE HAVE BEEN MOSTLY AT HOME THE LAST FEW WEEKS. DOING A LOT OF THINGS ON THE PHONE AND ON THE LAPTOP. JUST MOSTLY SHELTERING IN PLACE AND STAYING SAFE. JASON: THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR. LET’S START WITH THAT GOOD NEWS AS I MENTIONED, IT SEEMS AF IF THE CURVE IS FLATTENING. TALK ABOUT THE NUMBERS YOU’RE SEEING? MAYOR HOLT: I USE THIS EXAMPLE LAST FRIDAY IN MY REMARKS. I THINK IT IS AN INTERESTING ONE AND I WILL USE IT HERE. ON FRIDAY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DEATH TOTALS IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL CITIES, YOU COULD REALLY SEE THAT OKLAHOMA CITY WAS IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT POSITION THANKS TO OUR HARD WORK. WE HAVE THE SAME VIRUS HERE AND WE ARE STILL HUMAN BEINGS. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT WE HAVE MANAGED TO STOP THE SPREAD IN OUR COMMUNITIES. IN ITALY, THEY HAD 100 DEATHS IN ONE REGION PER 100,000 RESIDENTS. IN NEW YORK CITY, AS OF LAST FRIDAY, THEY HAVE ABOUT 60 DEATHS FOR EVERY 100,000 RESIDENTS. IN NEW ORLEANS, WHICH IS NOT THAT FAR FROM HERE, THEY HAD ABOUT 46 DEATHS FOR EVERY 100,000. HERE, IN OKLAHOMA CITY, WE HAVE HAD TWO. WE HAVE HAD A LOT -- DONE A LOT TO STOP THE SPREAD AND STOP THE WORST POTENTIAL OUTCOME, WHICH IS DEATH. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, THIS WAS ABOUT SAVING LIVES. WE FEEL LIKE WE FLATTENED THE CURVE. WE STILL HAVE CASES EVERY DAY. WE STILL HAVE MORE DEATHS ALMOST EVERY DAY, BUT WE JUST AREN’T SEEING THE NUMBERS LIKE YOU HAVE SEEN IN OTHER PLACES. WE KNOW WHAT COVID-19 IS CAPABLE OF. IT IS NOT THEORETICAL BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL OF THESE OTHER EXAMPLES AROUND THE WORLD, BUT WE HAVE AVOIDED ITS WORST FATE. JASON: ARMED WITH THAT INFORMATION, RE-OPENING IS A CONVERSATION THAT IS JUST STARTING TO GET OFF THE GROUND. THE PRESIDENT IS TALKING ABOUT THAT. HAVE YOU STARTED THOSE DIUSSIONS AND TALKED ABOUT WHAT THAT MAY LOOK LIKE HERE? MAYOR HOLT: YEAH, WE HAD ONE OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS YESTERDAY. THE GOVERNOR, MYSELF AND THE MAYOR OF TULSA ARE WORKING CLOSELY TOGETHER TO TRY TO ALIGN WHAT WE ARE DOING IN THIS NEXT PHASE. APRIL 30 HAS BEEN THE DATE WHERE ALL OF THE ORDERS EXPIRE. IN SOME SENSE, THAT IS AN ARBITRAR ONE, BUT IT IS ONE WHERE WE HAVE TO LOOK AGAIN AT WHAT WE HAVE IN PLACE SIMPLY BECAUSE WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE EXPIRES AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THAT. I HAVE HEARD THE ANALOGY USE THIS WEEK THAT IT IS NOT A LIGHT SWITCH. YOU DON’T FLIP EVERYTHING BACK ON, IT IS MORE LIKE A DIMMER BECAUSE YOU ARE STILL UNDER THE SHADOW OF COVID-19. IT IS STILL A DEADLY VIRUS IN OUR COMMUNITY, IT STILL DOES NOT HAVE A VACCINE OR TREATMENT. TO SOME DEGREE, WE ARE PROBABLY GOING TO LIVE WITH IT FOR MANY MONTHS. DOES THE NEXT PHASE LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT AS WE SEE OUR NUMBERS PLATEAU? I THINK THAT IS AN ENTIRELY REASONABLE CONVERSATION TO HAVE. WE ARE IN THAT CONVERSATION NOW AND HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO, WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING CONCRETE TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA CITY. JASON: I KNOW YOU ARE STILL LOOKING AT THE DATA, BUT DO YOU SEE ANOTHER EXTENSION COMING TO YOUR SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER BEYOND APRIL 30? MAYOR HOLT: I JUST DON’T KNOW. I THINK IT IS LIKELY YOU WILL STILL SEE SOME MEASURES IN PLACE BECAUSE AGAIN, WE HAVE A DEADLY VIRUS THAT IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE. DOES IT LOOK EXACTLY LIKE IT HAS TO THIS POINT AND THROUGH THE MONTH OF APRIL? PROBABLY NOT IF THE NUMBERS CONTINUE TO STAY WHERE THEY ARE RIGHT NOW. OR AT THE PLATEAU LEVEL THAT THEY ARE RIGHT NOW. AGAIN, WE ARE ALL HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT. I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY YET WHAT MAY 1 AND BEYOND LOOKS LIKE. WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT TODAY. JASON: WE STARTED OFF WITH GOOD, GOING TO THE BAD NOW. RIGHT NOW, WE ARE HEARING SOME PRETTY DIRE ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS FOR OKLAHOMA CITY. AN ECONOMIST SAID THE EFFECTS COULD BE EQU TO OR WORSE THAN THE GREAT DEPRESSION. WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THAT ASSESSMENT? MAYOR HOLT: TO BE CLEAR, THAT WAS THE HEADLINE. HE WAS SAYING THE SHORT TIME DROP IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE THE GREAT DEPRESSION. HE WAS NOT PREDICTING A TENURE ECONOMIC CALAMITY LIKE THE GREAT DEPRESSION. HE ALSO SUMMED UP HIS PROGNOSTICATION BY SAYING THIS WILL ULTIMATELY LOOK LIKE A REGULAR RECESSION. I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL COULD SEE COMING PROBABLY A MONTH OR A MONTH AND A HALF AGO AS WE SAW WHAT WAS CASCADING AROUND THE WORLD. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. THIS IS NOT -- A LOT OF TIMES, OUR RECESSIONS ARE OKLAHOMA CITY CENTRIC BECAUSE OF OUR RELIANCE ON THE OIL AND GAS ECONOMY. IN THIS CASE, THIS IS A RECESSION THAT IS HAPPENING EVERYWHERE ELSE AROUND THE WORLD. THERE ARE SOME WHO BELIEVE THAT THE RECOVERY WILL BE ALMOST AS SWIFT. THE PROBLEM IS, I THINK, THE VIRUS IS NOT GOING AWAY. IT MAY BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THAT. THAT MAY BE THE RECOVERY WE SEE WHEN THERE IS A VACCINE. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, IT MAY BE A LOT MORE GRADUAL. I HAVE POINTED OUT MULTIPLE TIMES THIS WEEK THAT EVEN WHEN WE START TO ADJUST TO THE RESTRICTIONS AND SOME BUSINESSES START TO REOPEN, AND MAYBE THEY REOPEN IN A DIFFERENT WAY, IT IS NOT LIKE EVERYBODY IS JUST GOING TO RUSH OUT TO DINNER AND A MOVIE BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE A DEADLY VIRUS THAT DOESN’T HAVE A VACCINE PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOR IS GOING TO BE CHANGED, NO DOUBT. WE WILL HAVE TO FIGURE THAT OUT AT THE CITY LEVEL BECAUSE ALL OF THAT AFFECTS OUR REVENUES IN OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE ARE SO RELIANT ON THE SALES TAX. THOSE ARE CHALLENGES OUR CITY MANAGEMENT TEAM IS CERTAINLY WORKING FOR NOW AS WE APPROACH THE OPTION FOR THE BUDGET THAT BEGINS JULY 1. THERE IS NO DOUBT IT IS GOING TO BE CHALLENGING, BUT THAT IS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN AND WE HAVE COME TO ACCEPT IT AND WE ARE GOING TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT AND WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM THAT KNOWS WHAT WE ARE DOING. WE ALSO HAVE GOOD RESERVES IN PLACE. WE WILL BE ABLE TO FLATTEN THAT CURVE OF THE BUDGET A LITTLE BIT AS WELL THANKS TO SOME RESERVES WE HAVE SAVED UP. JASON: IN JUST ABOUT 30 SECONDS, I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE $5.5 MILLION BUSINESS ASSISTANT FUND. HOW IS THAT PROGRAM GOING SO FAR? MAYOR HOLT: GOOD. THE CITY CAME FORWARD AND CREATED THE SMALL BUSINESS CONTINUITY PROGRAM AND PUT $5.5 MILLION INTO IT. THAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN OUR CITY LIMITS TO GET GRANTS AND LOANS AND FINANCIAL ADVICE. THAT KICKED OFF THE APPLICATIONS ABOUT A WEEK AGO. GO TO OKC.GOV AND THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE LINK FOR THAT APPLICATION PROCESS. WE HAVE HAD MANY APPLICATIONS AND WE ARE HEARTENED THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF HELP THERE. OBVIOUSLY, WORKING IN TANDEM WITH STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS AS WEL