Gov. Kevin Stitt said Oklahoma is still on track to enter “Phase Two” of the Open Up and Recover Safely (OURS) Plan in a press conference Monday afternoon. The next phase would allow more businesses to open around the state and relax some restrictions beginning this Friday, May 15.

“Our data in Oklahoma continues to support to move to Phase Two of our Open Up and Recover Safely Plan,” Stitt said. “We continue to have, in Oklahoma, the eighth-fewest cases per capita of any state in the country.”

Earlier this week, the state saw the lowest seven-day total of new confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 since the state began tracking in early April, with 569 cases in the previous week. That beat the previous seven-day low of 579 on April 29. The percentage of tests returning a positive result has also fallen from 10.1% on April 6 to 4.9% on May 11.

Phase Two is only possible if all Phase One guidelines have been met, according to the OURS Plan issued by the governor. That includes hospital and incident rates remaining at a manageable level for 14 days after the implementation of Phase One, which began April 24. If the state continues to meet these criteria, Phase Two would recommend anyone over the age of 65 or members of a vulnerable population to continue safer-athome guidelines. It would also keep social distancing practices in place across the state, discourage gatherings that do not allow for appropriate social distancing and allow non-essential travel to resume. Visits to long-term care facilities and hospitals will still be prohibited.

Also included in Phase Two are guidelines for employers to keep common areas closed where employees congregate and continue to follow sanitation protocols. Employers are also asked to honor special accommodation requests of personnel that are part of a vulnerable population and are encouraged to implement social distancing protocols when interacting with the public.

Organized sports are allowed to resume in Phase Two under proper social distancing and sanitation protocols. Bars are allowed to open with a limited standing-room capacity to allow for proper social distancing. Funerals and weddings would be allowed to resume and children’s nursery areas in places of worship are allowed to reopen.

If hospital and incident rates once again remain at a manageable level for 14 days, Oklahoma would move into Phase Three of the OURS Plan. Phase Three would allow unrestricted staffing at worksites and summer camps would be allowed to open. Further details for Phase Three will be provided by the Stitt administration once the state enters Phase Two.