Kansans can make their own decisions about COVID-19 only if they’re informed

French philosopher Albert Camus said, “The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.” His nearly century-old quote has been making the rounds among those who (justifiably) feel the media and government have been less than transparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

We’re bombarded with breaking news every time there’s something bad to report, but much of the information needed to put things in perspective is sorely lacking. And calls for more transparency are often dismissed or ignored. Kansas House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins recently expressed concern to Gov. Laura Kelly that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment rejected a news outlet’s open records request and slow-walked his own request. She didn’t even give him the courtesy of a response.

Over the last few weeks, media and government have been hyper-focused on new cases. COVID-19 is a serious situation and we need to know that the number of cases is increasing. But it’s irresponsible not to provide a full assessment of the situation.

While the number of cases has gone up, hospitalization and mortality rates are declining. Between July 6 and Aug. 10, the percentage of COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization in Kansas fell from 7.3% to 6.0%. Even more encouraging, only 4.6% of the new cases during that period required hospitalization. The mortality rate (deaths divided by reported cases) dropped from 1.7% to 1.2%. And aside from the tragic situation in nursing homes, the mortality rate is down to 0.6% of reported cases.

Hospitalizations in Kansas City aren’t published on the city website, but the 78 COVID-19 deaths from 4,407 reported cases as of Aug. 10 translates to a 1.8% mortality rate. The number of reported cases means 0.9% of the city’s population has been infected. The infection rate for Johnson County is 1%.

Prompted by questions about the comparison of COVID-19 deaths to the flu, we found data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that between Feb. 1 and July 25, more people died of pneumonia than COVID-19 in Kansas and Missouri. There were 1,937 pneumonia deaths, 1,056 COVID-19 deaths and 178 influenza deaths in Missouri. Kansas had 851 pneumonia deaths, 329 COVID-19 deaths and 89 deaths from influenza.

The severe economic and emotional damage caused by government actions to limit the spread of the coronavirus must also be considered.

June data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows there were 65,500 private sector jobs lost in Kansas compared to a year ago, and 181,100 were lost in Missouri. With tax collections down from fewer people working, Gov. Mike Parson reduced the state payroll by 10,600 jobs, or about 10%. Gov. Kelly, however, reduced state payroll by only 1.2%, or about 600 jobs.

The long-term economic and emotional suffering caused by COVID-19 shutdowns for families and employers is incalculable and will go on for years. Further shutdowns or disruptions imposed by government would make it exponentially worse.

That’s why public and private reactions to the coronavirus pandemic must be balanced, and that requires full transparency from media and government officials. Americans can think for themselves, and will act responsibly. But we don’t — and shouldn’t — take kindly to partially-informed mandates.

We love the liberties afforded us in our constitutional republic, which is the best form of government on the planet, and we intend to keep it.

Dave Trabert is chief executive officer of Kansas Policy Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on the protection of constitutional liberties.

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Kansans can make their own decisions about COVID-19 only if they’re informed."