Government dissemination of epidemic information as a policy instrument during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Chinese cities

COVID-19 has given rise to a surge in the number of policy instruments used to deal with the pandemic at different levels of governments globally. While much attention has been placed on travel bans, lockdown, social distancing, and economic stimulus packages, government dissemination of epidemic information as a policy instrument has received less attention. Based on 14,637 news items collected from the portals of 79 municipal governments in China, this study aims to 1) conduct a content analysis of news items and construct three key attributes of governments' practices of epidemic information dissemination, namely, comprehensiveness, responsiveness, and the protection of privacy, and 2) study the patterns and determinants of the dissemination of epidemic information. Our results show that these cities vary substantially in how they disseminate statistical data and information on individual cases of COVID-19 infections within their localities, which are shaped by government performance in open data, severity of the pandemic, cities' administrative level, population, and health sector capacities. The findings generate theoretical and policy implications for government dissemination of epidemic information.