Brad Clonch and Quin Tran host this new episode of CNTV News, giving the latest updates on what's going on in the Chickasaw Nation. Quin first interviews Chickasaw Nation Health Undersecretary Dr. John Krueger about the surge in coronavirus cases. He says that since the beginning of July, there has been a substantial increase in cases throughout the state of Oklahoma, with July 7 being the biggest one-day increase in infection rate since they started tracking cases. "Let me put this in perspective, we saw a 27 percent increase; 27 percent of all our positives occurred in the last five to six days," says Dr. Krueger. The Chickasaw Nation is testing in similar numbers to the rest of the state, but they have found that there is a lower infected rate amongst Chickasaw Nation employees, which he attributed to the Nation's commitment to responsible distancing and wearing face coverings.

Why the increase in numbers? Dr. Krueger hypothesizes that people are getting "COVID fatigue" and are letting down their guard on practices that were keeping them safe earlier in the year. Because of this, people are hanging out with friends or in groups of people, who may be asymptomatic, and are passing the virus along. He strongly encourages viewers to keep up their risk mitigation efforts, which include hand washing, wearing face coverings, avoiding gatherings and continuing to get regular health screenings and checkups. And even if the virus has minimal to no effects for one person, that doesn't mean that they wouldn't be passing it along to someone who could be drastically harmed by COVID-19 symptoms. Dr. Krueger asked for the public's help in taking COVID-19 seriously to keep vulnerable citizens safe. Currently, the infection rate is 1.3 to 2 people newly infected for one pre-existing infection of COVID-19. Getting the infection rate under control is the first step to keeping the Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma and the U.S. safe and healthy.

Next, Brad and Quin report that this year’s celebration for the 2020 inductee class for the Chickasaw Hall of Fame was postponed to a later date. However, they did showcase the announcement video for the five honorees, three of whom are still living and two inducted posthumously. This year's class consists of Tim Colbert, RADM Kevin Meeks, Ron Parker, Lillian Blackwood Fowler and John L. Hilton. To find out more about the Chickasaw Hall of Fame and the 2020 class of honorees, visit https://hof.chickasaw.net/.

Then, on the subject of halls of fame, Quin interviews Chickasaw citizen Caleb McCaleb about his recent induction into the Edmond Public Schools Hall of Fame. He discusses his philanthropic efforts and how honored he was to be invited to be in this year's class of honorees.

And finally, Brad and Quin remind everyone that time is running out to shop Chickasaw and other Southeastern Native artists' work at the Artesian Online Art Market. After the Artesian Art Festival was postponed this year, the festival moved online to celebrate and host the work of native artists. Individuals can buy pieces from the art market until July 31 at artesianartsfestival.com.