In The Great Influenza by John Barry at p. 340, about government controlling fear he writes: "They could not control it because every true report had been diluted with lies."
In the third week of February 2020 a local mayor in a radio news report stated that city residents had nothing to worry about in connection with the new corona virus. This kind of comment by city officials appears to have been a common feature in the US during the 1918 flu epidemic according to Barry’s book. Given the many uncertainties in an pandemic, including questions about virulence, origin, infectiousness, symptoms, consequences of illness and so on, more likely, it takes quite some time to understand the full dimensions of a pandemic.
Why lie? Some possibilities include:
(1) habit;
(2) a policy decision of the individual or group that inhibiting public fear is more important than disseminating the truth;
(3) the official or politician fears that conceding ignorance will impair their public standing.
(4) attempts to hide lack of preparation, corrupt government procurement policies, or policy failures.
DW.com has an undated opinion piece: From US to China, lies and coronavirus pandemic The scale of the pandemic is the result of official mendaciousness. Policymakers must start telling the truth in order to slow the further spread of the coronavirus, DW's Rodion Ebbighausen writes.
Which leads to a companion question, is honesty a pandemic fighting strategy?