The COVID-19 pandemic is a threat to the health and well being everyone. One of the most important factors in limiting the spread of the disease and mitigating the threat is open, honest, frequent and transparent communication from officials and subject matter experts. Officials have been less than forthcoming and honest, however, likely because they are afraid of creating so-called mass panic.

News reports have emerged suggesting that fear of panic has been an overriding consideration in decisions about what to communicate and when. Federal officials have made the assurance "There is no need to panic" part of almost every major statement about the outbreak. The decision to avoid declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, even though to meets all of the World Health Organization's criteria for a pandemic, may also be explained as part of a need to reassure the public. There are now rumors that the decision to initially limit testing was a strategy to avoid reporting on the scope of the outbreak.

But the reality is that widespread public panic is a very rare condition in times of crisis. Thirty years of research in a variety of disasters has found very few cases of public panic. In fact, panic is classified by disaster researchers as a pervasive myth, often propagated by the media. In general, people act in fundamentally rational, logical and even altruistic ways, given the conditions they face, the information they have access to, and their trust in the ability of government to protect them from harm.

Public response to COVID-19 includes significant concern, purchasing things that the public believes or has been told can help protect them, and changing behaviors.

Community preparedness for crises has always emphasized having a three-day supply of food and water and in fact Ready.Gov has promoted this kind of preparation for many years. It is not at all surprising in light of a disease outbreak that may require social distancing and in some cases, self quarantine, that people are stocking up at their local Costco.

It is logical behavior given the circumstances and what is being observed elsewhere. Similarly, hand sanitizer has been recommended as a mediation strategy. Face masks, especially for healthy persons, are of very limited utility, nonetheless, to the untrained person they make sense as a way to limit exposure. Limiting financial exposure and risk, especially when high levels of uncertainty exist about the long-term implications of COVID-19, are logical and rational responses and likely would be recommended by most financial advisers. Avoiding travel and large crowds that can increase exposure is not panic. Rather, these are logical and rational social distancing strategies.

Not only is panic a rare response during crises and disasters, people tend to act in supportive and resilient ways. They check on their neighbors, help organized community response teams, and insure that those who are harmed receive help and care.

When uninformed officials use fear of panic as an excuse for withholding information, they increase distrust and add to the suspicion that things are much worse than officials are willing to admit. Research shows that in the absence of credible information, dangerous rumors develop and go viral. This distrust will also tend to increase the very kinds of behaviors officials wish to avoid. Over reassurance is a fundamental mistake in crisis communication.

When an official makes a statement such as "There is no need for public panic," it indicates a limited understanding of how people behave during disasters. Moreover, it reflects a fundamental distrust in the tendency of the public to generally do the right things when given the right information.

Matthew Seeger is a professor of crisis communication and dean at Wayne State University. His books include "Crisis Communication and the Public Health" (2008), "Effective Crisis Communication" (2007), "Theorizing Crisis Communication" (2014), "Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication" (Second Edition, 2015), "Narratives of Crisis: Telling Stories of Ruin and Renewal" (2016).