Idaho must be more transparent with vital public information during coronavirus pandemic

With fears of economic recession and the growing health care crisis, we can’t forget about expecting transparency from our public officials and agencies.

Unfortunately, we now are seeing a lack of transparency when it comes to the government’s handling of coronavirus cases.

In Idaho, we’ve had trouble getting information about nursing home cases of COVID-19, about why we haven’t performed more tests and about very basic information such as the number of cases, which have differed between the state and the individual health districts.

We must do better.

Across the country, residents of nursing homes are dying, and state officials, including Idaho, are keeping quiet about which nursing homes are affected.

Idaho nursing homes have had at least 150 cases reported and at least 26 people have died from COVID-19 at 16 long-term care facilities, according to the Associated Press.

However, state officials have declined to release the names of the facilities that have had outbreaks.

Of those 150 cases and 26 deaths, how were those cases divided among the 16 facilities? Were there 135 at one facility? Did one facility have 20 of the deaths? Without providing details about cases, the public is left in the dark.

The Idaho Statesman has had similar difficulties over the past several weeks receiving information from state and local officials both informally and more formally through public records requests.

It’s more than likely a combination of reasons that state and health district officials are not providing information: not enough staff, not enough information at their disposal and a misplaced goal of protecting some information.

Very early on in March, Statesman reporters and editors were asking questions about testing people who didn’t fulfill the requirement of coming into contact with someone who had a confirmed case or traveling out of state or out of the country.

We still have not received a response to our questions.

The Idaho Statesman has asked the office of Gov. Brad Little about Idaho joining a consortium of Western states, which now includes California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Nevada, planning a concerted reopening effort. Were we invited? Did we decline? Were we declined inclusion?

We haven’t received answers.

Since the early days of coronavirus in Idaho, we have tried to resolve conflicting numbers of cases and deaths between the state and individual health districts. We have been stymied in getting details of the circumstances of deaths, including simple questions of when deaths occurred.

We’ve received spotty responses from the governor’s office to our questions about such things as what constitutes an essential business and whether the governor’s stay-home order allowed showings of houses for sale, something of keen importance to the public.

Often, the media is simply a conduit for our readers, asking questions that our readers are asking us. Readers ask us because they know we have access to public officials that they don’t. One reporter can represent and inform tens of thousands of people with one story.

In fact, we solicited questions from our readers who wanted to know about when a community garden could reopen, when restaurants with bars could reopen and what are the guidelines for vocational school, youth sports and hair and nail salons to reopen for business.

Unfortunately, we did not receive answers back on those questions.

We understand that many of these agencies, including the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Central District and other health districts, are dealing with an unprecedented workload right now. We know their staff is struggling to meet the demand.

Nonetheless, providing timely and accurate information to the public — during a public health emergency — through local media, is a vital and necessary part of their job. In fact, it’s still a legal requirement, through the Idaho Public Records law.

If the issue is staffing, then these agencies need to hire now to complete the required work. If lawyers are needed to review public records requests, then the agencies need to bring in extra lawyers to review requests and get them approved.

We were encouraged to see the Central District Health Department post an announcement Tuesday that it is hiring COVID-19 investigators and contact tracer/monitor. That’s a good start.

As we take steps toward reopening the state, being transparent is going to become more and more important, because the public needs assurances that the steps we’re taking are prudent and safe.

Given their track record to date, we have cause for concern.