Editorial: More info needed on reach of virus

Hawaii residents, as in other states across the nation, have been living in the dark about the full extent of the coronavirus outbreak, because the capacity to test those potentially infected has been severely limited.

Slowly the clouds will be lifted in the coming days and weeks. In addition to an increasing number of private labs with testing capability, state officials on Tuesday announced a welcome surveillance testing program that should provide a clearer view of the true public-health landscape in Hawaii.

The ongoing challenge, as the slow-moving disaster of coronavirus rolls out, will be for the state to keep the public informed about the scale of the outbreak locally, and its dimensions.

That clearer picture likely won’t be a welcome sight — this is a distressing upheaval to the daily lives and security of Hawaii’s people.

But worse than the general fear is the uncertainty. Knowing where the disease is confirmed, and access to as much information as possible about the circumstances of its spread, will help the public assess their own risks over the months ahead.

All this expanded testing is a hopeful turn of events, especially given the uneven and insufficient rollout of initial testing. Honolulu Star-Advertiser writer Kristin Consillio reported this week about the case of a patient who, earlier in the crisis, was denied coronavirus testing by the state Department of Health (DOH) in early February, even after influenza had been ruled out as a cause of his flu-like symptoms.

That was truly less than optimal, but seems forced rather than intentional. All the states had insufficient testing supplies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the outset of the crisis, and the DOH was under stricter protocols in use of its allotment, anticipating a possible surge of cases.

The lag in testing as aggressively as was needed certainly did not help health officials get a grip on the problem. Now there’s a chance to turn that around.

This state has an advantage, said Gov. David Ige, in a media conference held on Tuesday. Hawaii is one of the states positioned to use its established flu-testing systems as a resource for “sentinel testing” for the coronavirus as well. Health officials said a random selection of swabs tested by laboratories statewide and found negative for flu will now be tested for coronavirus.

Officials said the state lab will be pressed to its full capacity of 250 COVID-19 tests per week. The priority there will be on testing patients whom doctors believe may have coronavirus, based on their symptoms and history. But part of the expanded testing load now will be a retesting of the past samples, which may indicate whether or how the disease has spread.

Health Director Bruce Anderson stressed that all private-lab coronavirus test results — positives and negatives — will be reported to the DOH. And Dr. Sarah Park, the state’s infectious diseases specialist, said the department would regularly update the community on the status of all its testing. That is essential: Within the constraints of health-records privacy law, the state needs to be forthcoming with the details.

Further, health officials have pledged outreach to elder-care facilities, whose residents need particular care and protection.

Getting on top of the problem will be essential to Hawaii’s resilience, so it’s encouraging to see a broad assortment of business leaders named to a new select committee on the issue, convened by House Speaker Scott Saiki. The earlier such leaders are brought into the discussion, the more likely they will be able to respond in real time to the challenges that arise.

And the same goes for members of the public. People likely know the drill. They can recite hygiene rules about frequent hand-washing, avoidance of unnecessary contacts, and all the rest.

But now it’s time to walk the talk.