The government announced a plan on Feb. 25 to combat the new coronavirus epidemic that is focused on slowing the spread of the virus while ensuring recovery of patients in serious condition.

As the number of designated medical facilities adequately equipped to treat cases of COVID-19 is limited, the plan, which calls for diagnosis and treatment efforts based strictly on priority, represents a sensible approach to tackling the colossal public health care challenge.

But there is one big worrisome factor that is casting a dark shadow over the outlook of the plan. The government, which should spearhead the battle, is not trusted.

The first meeting of expert advisers for the government to discuss measures to rein in the outbreak was held as late as on Feb. 16 after infection cases were reported in which their transmission routes could not be traced. The government deserves to be criticized for having been far too slow to take steps to prevent an epidemic at home due to its ill-advised concentration on efforts to keep the virus from entering the nation.

Its handling of the situation in the coronavirus-infected cruise ship Diamond Princess has also deepened public distrust of the way the government is responding to the crisis.

The fact that some passengers have been infected with the virus after testing negative and disembarking from the quarantined vessel has cast doubt on the government’s claim that the infection did not spread within the ship after passengers were required to remain in their cabins from Feb. 5.

The government should not be criticized simply because some measures it has taken at certain stages of this growing crisis have backfired. But it is vital for the government to make flexible responses to the changing situation based on the latest information and knowledge and quickly correct any mistake it has made while explaining its efforts in detail to the public.

In implementing the strategy it has mapped out, the government needs to provide careful, well-designed support to facilities and people on the front line of the war against the virus.

The plan, for instance, calls on hospitals to clearly separate the consultation hours and patient flow lines for coronavirus cases from those for general patients. But operational conditions and circumstances differ from one medical institution to another.

It is necessary to establish a system in which medical institutions can receive counsel and instructions from experts on what kind of measures they should take and how they can be effectively implemented.

Medical academic societies, medical associations and other expert organizations should provide active cooperation to ensure that the plan will work.

It is also important to pay special attention to facilities for the elderly, such as special nursing homes for the aged.

Stable supplies of necessary materials and equipment are, of course, indispensable for all facilities involved.

The government’s strategy also says if the number of cases continues rising in various areas of the nation, infection tests should be focused on the needs related to treatment of pneumonia patients.

It is indeed unrealistic to conduct virus tests on all possible cases including those clearly showing no suspicious symptoms.

But the government should nevertheless respond to growing anxiety among the people stemming from cases where requests for tests are turned down.

With regard to this problem as well, it is vital for the government to grasp the situation accurately, disclose all relevant information and provide good explanations to help the public understand issues involved.

The government needs to make every effort to avoid provoking the suspicion that it is trying to curb the number of virus tests to make the scale of the epidemic look smaller than it really is.

There are also problems with how our society is reacting to the situation. Many disturbing cases of discrimination, bullying and human rights abuse targeting people who have returned home from China, former passengers of the cruise ship and medical experts who have treated patients have been reported around the nation.

Alarmed by such reports, the Japanese Association for Disaster Medicine issued a statement voicing concerns about this trend.

This is a situation that should not be overlooked. If we become excessively frightened by the disease and lose our calm, our society will lose this battle against the virus.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 27