When The Associated Press asked U.S. governors for records on their decision-making on pandemic shutdowns, they did not receive any records from 20 states. The state governments claim staff are working from home or dealing with crisis management so can’t provide information to the public. Many states have altered open records laws to avoid deadlines. (The Associated Press, March 14, 2021, by David A. Lieb)
Observers say that transparency is essential during the pandemic so that the public can understand inconsistencies in rules from city to city and state to state. Compliance suffers if the public cannot see that the rules are reasonable. (The Christian Science Monitor, November 24, 2021, by Francine Kiefer and Nick Roll)