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El Reno Public Schools has a plan for the remainder of the school year.

COVID-19 has caused schools across the country to improvise within new and strange territories.

While El Reno Mayor and Acting City Manager Matt White has not ruled out a citywide shelter-in-place order, he is asking residents to use common sense and take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously.

“Just don’t take a chance with the stuff. It’s here (in the county) and what I understand from the numbers sent out from the state that the number of cases will start to climb.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has not declared a statewide shelter-in-place order, but White expects one soon. The state is one of 12 nationally not to have such an order.

Vaccines intended to combat or cure the virus that has created a worldwide pandemic could first be given to the Chinese government to be tested there.

Congressman Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said pharmaceutical companies based in the United States know “China will start lining people up and injecting them” without a second thought as to what the reaction to the drugs might be for their people. He said the same vaccine will need approval from the Federal Drug Administration before human trials begin here.

El Reno's first confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus has been identified as Associate District Judge Bob Hughey.

Hughey, who oversees the Canadian County Children's Justice Center, has been in self-quarantine at home since March 23.

“I went to the emergency room at Mercy in Oklahoma City,” said Hughey, who was suffering from respiratory issues.

Hughey said he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis but was not tested for the virus at that time.

El Reno fire and police personnel have been cleared to return to work after a report from the state medical examiner showed a patient they came into contact with did not have COVID-19.

However, one confirmed case of the virus has been reported here, said Mayor and Acting City Manager Matt White.

White said the confirmed case is believed to be a male in the 55-65 age range. He said the condition of the man was not available, but he did not believe he was hospitalized, but was in self quarantine.

He said no other information was available.

City of El Reno officials are waiting on word from the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on the status of four police officers and one fireman and their possible exposure to COVID-19.

The first responders were answering a reported medical call of a heart attack on Kerry Lane Tuesday night according to Assistant City Manager Matt Sandidge.

“It was called in as a heart attack,” said Sandidge,

El Reno Mayor and Acting City Manager Matt White said lifesaving measures were taken on the scene.

In the first five days of serving students during the COVID-19 shutdown of school sites, the district served 7,914 meals to 2,638 students. On Friday there were 800 weekend food packs delivered.

El Reno Mobile Meals, which serves more than 150 elderly clients with daily meal service, will be closing its doors temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are temporarily closing due to the coronavirus and as soon as we can get back to being around each other and be safe, we will go back to daily deliveries to the full 160 people on our list,” said El Reno Mobile Meals Director Christina Ramsey.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that adults ages 65 and older are at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19.