Oklahoma governor criticized after family night out amid coronavirus national emergency

OKLAHOMA CITY — What seemed like a casual Saturday night out with family turned into a not-so-friendly barrage of harsh words and comments for Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.

On Saturday, Stitt posted on Twitter a picture of a dinner date with his kids at Collective OKC.

“Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the Collective OKC,” Stitt posted on Twitter. “It’s packed tonight!”

Soon after the post, floods of followers replied to the tweet, calling Stitt irresponsible and accusing him of not taking the state of current affairs seriously.

On March 12, Stitt issued an executive order for Oklahoma to prepare for potential coronavirus spread. Among the recommendations is one for agencies to take the necessary steps to protect vulnerable populations. And on Friday, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus, which helps free up resources.

Since then, local, county and state governments have encouraged people to limit contact with other people and not travel or attend large gatherings to help curb the spread of the contagious respiratory disease.

As of Sunday, there have been four cases of COVID-19 in the state and 37 people are still waiting for their results, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

The post was since deleted, but comments about the governor’s actions are still being directed at him.

“Governor, I want to support local businesses too,” said one post. “But crowded restaurants and bars will transmit virus and make ALL businesses worse off. Encourage restaurants to move to takeout or delivery only, with proper protections for their workers. Social distancing can save lives.”

The governor’s office has not said why the post was deleted from Twitter.

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