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Washington County officials made a call last week that they believe will better protect their employees from the spread of COVID-19 until the pandemic blows over.

Commissioner Mitch Antle said he has lost some confidence in the number of positive Coronavirus cases that are being reported in the county and the state. He said they believed they had to afford their workers protection, even if they are classified as essential.

The idea is to follow an approach that has been seen across the nation that has become more localized. That idea is to splitting work crews in half. One half of the crews will be on the job while the other half will stay home for 14 days in order to self-quarantine.

The workers are then expected to swap out once the two week quarantine ends. This process applies to Washington County's Road Districts and the employees that work in the county's barns.

Commissioner Antle said they must maintain a level of service for the public. He said local government is essential and they are working around the clock despite the implementation of safety measures.

The state's response has gotten better with time. Commissioner Antle said he appreciates Gov. Kevin Stitt's ability to step up and make shifts that are necessary for Oklahoma. He said the mantra for every disaster that they ever deal with is, "Federally supported, state led, and locally executed."

This means that the Federal Government will support local efforts, the state is expected to lead the local government as a sub-state planning district, and the local level is expected to execute on behalf of the state. Commissioner Antle said the state portion of the mantra was missing early last week. He said corrective measures are in place in Oklahoma, and that we are heading in the right direction.