Don’t Trust; Do Verify (Editorial)

Gov. Asa Hutchinson made a mistake last week that we doubt he’ll make again: He failed to vet coronavirus testing data from the White House.

The governor displayed a chart that seemed to indicate Arkansas was leading among states in terms of testing for the virus. That’s important because scientists link the level of testing to determining when to open up our largely shuttered economy. The more tests, the clearer picture we have of the extent of the contagion, and a clearer picture of the extent of the virus should inform decisions about resuming business.

Unfortunately, Arkansas, like most states, isn’t doing enough testing. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Tuesday that fewer than 1% of Arkansans had been tested for the virus, a result that means the state “has tested a lower percentage of its residents for coronavirus than all of its neighbors but Texas.”

This isn’t necessarily Hutchinson’s fault. Testing for a virus the world had never previously seen wasn’t high on most governors’ list of priorities, constrained as they are by limited resources and particularly after President Donald Trump had downplayed the threat from the coronavirus for weeks. Coordinating a national response to a global pandemic is a task for the federal government.

Nevertheless, this presidential administration has sought to avoid accepting responsibility for managing the crisis. And most Americans generally like the way their governors have been handling the pandemic. We count ourselves among them. Hutchinson hasn’t performed flawlessly but he’s performed well. His almost daily news conferences are informative and focused.

We don’t know when the best time to reopen business is. The governor has appointed a task force, led by Steuart Walton, to help him make that decision.

We do know that Hutchinson should avoid looking to the Trump administration for leadership and should thoroughly vet the data it provides.