J. Kevin Stitt May 4, 2020 Of?ce of the Governor The Honorable Jim Inhofe State Of Oklahoma United States Senate Russell Senate Office Building 205 Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Inhofe, On behalf of the State of Oklahoma and our nearly 4 million people, 1 am writing to offer our sincere thanks for thoughtfully crafting federal assistance through the various stimulus funds to support Oklahoma families, job creators and those unemployed during this unprecedented time in our economy and with the presence of the novel virus. Today, 1 want to speci?cally share the State?s appreciation for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which has positioned State government and municipalities with grant resources for strengthening our public health infrastructure and allowing Oklahomans to get back to work safely. The State?s mission with roughly $1.2 billion in CARES Act funds thus far has been threefold: 1) Provide for our frontline workers at high risk of exposure, standing in the gap to procure critical personal protective equipment (PPE) in an unprecedently competitive and complicated global market; 2) Minimize the presence of in Oklahoma through aggressive testing and contact tracing efforts; and 3) Protect lives by maintaining the framework of the State?s Hospital Surge Plan across Oklahoma for the foreseeable future. My administration is committed to being good stewards of the resources you have secured for Oklahoma and to be transparent with the Oklahoma taxpayer in our transactions and distributions. It is why, within days of President Trump signing the federal stimulus package, my administration established the CARES Act Finance Team of public leaders and ?nancial experts to direct and manage the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) received by the US. Treasury. This team is continuing to expand our checks on the system and implement new software to monitor purchasing with a ?ne microscope. We will also be expanding the scope of the team in the coming days to strengthen the input of Oklahoma leaders and citizens around our state to make sure the funds address the biggest areas of need. We welcome your input at any time, and we are committed to keeping you informed on the use of these critical funds. I want to make you aware that the State has already made multiple expenditures matching our shared mission of the Act. The State?s related expenses represent 4.4% of the total CRF funds allocated to Oklahoma to date, or $55 million of the $1.2 billion. Of the expenses so far reimbursed back to the State, a vast majority of the costs have been for medical supplies, materials and equipment. When it comes to critical PPE supplies, the State has: 0 Purchased and deployed several millions of surgical masks, N95, and KN9S masks, prioritizing Oklahoma vendors to help us obtain critical supplies that remain largely produced by manufacturers overseas. Partnered with Oklahoma businesses wherever possible with the purchase of gowns, face shields, and hand sanitizer from companies such as: Covercraft in Pauls Valley, Prairie Wolf in Guthrie, Professional Imaging Packaging in Tulsa, Oklahoma Folding Carton in Minco, and Lucas Color Card in Oklahoma City. STATE CAPITOL BUILDING 0 2300 N. UNCOLN BOULEVARD, SUITE 2.7 2 I OKLAHOMA CITY, OKMHOM 73105 I 405-521-2342 - Stood in the gap for Oklahoma?s 150 hospitals and their medical professionals as well as EMTs, ?re ?ghters, law enforcement, county health department employees, roughly 42,000 skilled nursing home facilities? employees and residents, funeral home employees, tribal partners, and State agencies, such as the roughly 4,300 employees and 24,000 inmates across our state prisons. Our methods have been successful in protecting lives and reducing spread. The clearest example is with the State?s prison system and VA facilities. My administration closed these facilities to visitors by mid-March, and as PPE became available, we have responsibly distributed various supplies to staff and employees. To date, we have had two positive cases among inmates and no deaths. Among our seven ODVA facilities, we have had only six positive cases among the residents and staff. One veteran was sent to ODVA with while on hospice, and the facility was able to properly care for him in his ?nal hours without spread of the virus. As instructed by the CARES Act, the State will continue to utilize these funds to ensure Oklahoma?s frontline workers and most vulnerable populations in the State?s care have access to critical PPE while the global supply chain is re- stabilizing. Thanks to your efforts. the State has also made signi?cant headway on testing and tracing by: 0 Increasing the State?s daily COVID-19 testing capacity to more than 20,000 in partnership with Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma as well as private labs. I Expanding testing capabilities as one of two states exploring the use of saliva testing, in partnership with Oklahoma State University, which is expected to reduce testing facilities? demand on PPE by 90% and increase throughout for administering testing by threefold. 0 Opening more than 80 locations across the State where Oklahomans can be tested for free of cost, with plans to keep these facilities staffed and available to the public for the foreseeable future. I Partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield to launch a Caring Van to administer testing in communities where individuals lack access to transportation. 0 Expanding the State?s ISO-person tracing team to more than 650 trained individuals in the coming weeks, in partnership with our medical institutions and the National Guard. 0 Deploying tracing teams across Oklahoma?s 11 public health regions, with each team consisting of epidemiologists, communicable disease nurses and hundreds of contact tracers to contain and mitigate the spread of in their communities. With strong infrastructure in place, the State has set a metric to collect 90,000 specimens by the end of May, with a strategy to garner thousands of participants that will expand our knowledge of Oklahoma?s population. Our expanded Oklahoma State Health Department (OSDH) workforce will also ensure the State can maintain its successful tracing process of notifying positive cases within two hours of results and conducting investigations and notifying exposed p0pulations with 48 hours of results. Additionally, we will be leveraging CARES Act funding and other stimulus grants, to support the State?s hospital surge plan, which will ensure continued availability of ICU beds Speci?cally for COVlD-positive patients in the event of a resurgence. It will also allow us to maintain the State?s deployment of 54 telehealth devices throughout our rural communities to keep open lines of communications between local medical health professionals and specialists. The State?s Hospital Surge Plan, built in partnership with the Oklahoma Hospital Association, can be read here. With these efforts in place, the State of Oklahoma has been successful in flattening the curve and minimizing the spread of As I write this letter, we have the 8th lowest infection rate in the nation, the lowest rate in our region and across the Sun Belt. Our hospitalizations continue to be on the decline, with our peak appearing to have arrived on March 30; and our percentage of positive test results as a percentage of total test results is roughly 5.7% today, a notable decline from 10% in mid-March. As a result, the State has begun a phased-in approach to reopening Oklahoma?s economy, called the Open Up and Recover Safely (OURS) plan, which can be read here: I cannot let it go without saying that the men and women of Oklahoma?s National Guard have been critical partners and deserve recognition and our deepest gratitude as well. They have stepped in to assist in planning our overall process, sanitized long-term care facilities across the state, moved PPE from our inventory out to the front line, and helped to ensure needy Oklahomans are served at our largest food banks. We are indebted to their sacri?ce and their service to our great state. Once again, thank you for your vigilant watch over our state and for your partnership in protecting lives and rebuilding our economy. God bless you, and God bless the great state of Oklahoma. Sincerely, . Kevin Stitt Governor of Oklahoma