Norman Residents Express Concern About Reopening The City Too Quickly

Norman city leaders spent hours discussing their next steps for life after COVID-19 Tuesday night. 

The councilors had access to the results of a survey asking for residents’ input on reopening the city.

Around 12,000 residents weighed in on the plan city leaders are calling "Reboot Norman.”

One of the survey’s main questions: should Norman extend the stay-at-home order past April 30? Fifty-five percent of respondents said yes. 

Approximately 80 percent of Norman residents said they would participate if antibody tests were available.

Norman Mayor Breea Clark said they will take the responses into account but will rely on public health professionals to make decisions for the city.

OU Health Sciences Center Dr. Gary Raskob presented the White House-recommended phases of returning to normal life.

The council had a chance to ask Dr. Raskob specifics about OU, including what could be in store for football season. 

"There's not been any decision," Dr. Raskob said. "And I just, interestingly this will probably be just for a variety of reasons, one of the most challenging things to deal with. As you can imagine, 80,000 people in Memorial Stadium is not the optimal thing for controlling COVID(-19) spread."

Council members mostly agreed with survey takers and expressed reservations about reopening too quickly.

The mayor asked any council members with opinions or comments to make sure they shared them with her before decisions had to be made.