Thursday, March 05, 2020

State and local governments have great power in fighting coronavirus, including allowing news media to do their jobs

"Local and state public health officials wield extraordinary powers in emergency situations such as the current coronavirus outbreak," Michael Ollove and Alex Brown report for Stateline. "They can close schools and private businesses. They can restrict or shut down mass transit systems. They can cancel concerts, sporting events and political rallies. They can call up the National Guard. They can suspend medical licensing laws and protect doctors from liability claims. And they can quarantine or isolate people who might infect others."

Laws on emergency powers vary, but most give states and municipalities wide latitude to respond to health threats such as the coronavirus variant dubbed covid-19. That generally includes the right to declare a state of emergency, which serves both practical and psychological functions. Governments can slow the spread of disease by restricting movement or quarantining the sick without having to deal with red tape. And declaring a state of emergency may reassure members of the public who are anxious to know that officials are responding, Ollove and Brown report.

Under emergency-declaration laws, authorities can also redirect health care workers to where they're most needed and help hospitals deal with the onslaught of patients. "For instance, they can decide which hospitals should have isolation wards," Ollove and Brown report. "They can order or request hospitals to release patients with lesser health needs to make room for those infected with the virus. They can take properties to create emergency medical centers if hospital space runs out. And they can transfer equipment and supplies from one hospital to another, based on the needs of the moment."

Local health officials also play a critical role in informing the public. Clear, factual information to the public can slow the spread of disease, reduce panic, and kill rumors, Ollove and Brown write.

It is important to allow the news media to do its job during an infectious disease threat. During the Spanish flu epidemic, governments all over the world forbade, discouraged, or threatened newspapers from reporting on the extent of the disease for fear that it would cause panic, Gillian Brockell reports for The Washington Post. But attempts to control information backfired and resulted in many more lives lost, said historian John M. Barry, who wrote a book about the Spanish flu epidemic.

"For example, in Philadelphia, local officials were planning the largest parade in the city’s history. Just before the scheduled event, about 300 returning soldiers started spreading the virus in the city," Brockell reports. Many doctors told reporters that the parade shouldn't happen, and reporters wrote the stories, but editors wouldn't print them, Barry told Brockell. The parade was held, and Spanish flu hit the city two days later. City officials closed schools and banned public gatherings, but claimed that it wasn't a public health measure and that there was no need for alarm. Philadelphia ended up being one of the hardest hit areas in the nation, with more than 12,500 dead.

Barry spoke to Stateline reporters too, and through the anecdote about Philadelphia emphasized that local officials shouldn't minimize or dismiss credible threats of infectious disease.

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