Shortly before noon last Wednesday, Aug. 12, Hugo Chief of Police John Mitchell confirmed two men perished early Wednesday morning, when they were working on a railroad car at Trinity RailCar in Hugo. Mitchell said a number of law enforcement, fire and EMT officers converged on the plant (Hugo PD, Hugo Fire Dept., Choctaw County EMS, Choctaw County Sheriff’s Dept., and Oklahoma Highway Patrol) Wednesday morning. “We got there as Trinity employees and Hugo Fire Department officers were removing the two men from one of the cars. It was about half-in and half-out of the building,” Chief Mitchell stated. Both were said to be unresponsive and were transported to Choctaw Memorial Hospital in Hugo and declared deceased.”

New accounts of patients who believe they’ve been reinfected after recovering from COVID-19 are popping up daily, leading to an unnerving question: Can we get Coronavirus twice? Unlikely, say experts at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, at least in the short term. “It seems more probable that people reexhibiting symptoms are simply still carrying thevirus, not getting reinfected –– that’s a critical distinction,” said OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D., a physician and medical researcher.

OKLAHOMA CITY –– The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) announced it is expanding ongoing contact tracing efforts in Oklahoma with the launch of a new COVID-19 contact tracing and case investigation call center.

STILLWATER –– Oklahoma leadership for the agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Oklahoma Tribal Conservation Advisory Council (OTCAC) are hosting a “Nation to Nation” Tribal Consultation ZOOM Meeting on Aug. 18. This is truly a special event with all of Oklahoma’s sovereign tribes having been invited to attend.

With a recent report of positive COVID-19 cases with staff members at Boswell Public Schools, superintendent Keith Edge has announced the school’s plan to move to virtual learning. “Boswell Schools have confirmed positive COVID-19 cases with some staff members,” Edge said.