The coronavirus is spreading faster than we can contain it, faster than municipalities can track it and here in the United States, much faster than our testing capacity can handle. By the time you read a statistic, chances are it’s outdated.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that people in power can’t keep up. On Monday, Alex Azar, the secretary of health and human services, said he couldn’t provide accurate numbers of tested Americans because private labs don’t have to report results to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The C.D.C. has come under fire for taking testing numbers off its website and for its inability to supply timely information on the spread of the virus. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that the White House told officials at the Department of Health & Human Services to classify coronavirus deliberations, adding a layer of secrecy to the government’s response.

As a result, there’s not just an absence of information but also an absence of authority. In cases where the government has issued guidance — like telling Americans to avoid cruise ships — it did so despite misgivings from the president and reports of internal fighting. Agencies like the C.D.C. offer rudimentary advice on what symptoms to watch for and how to wash hands effectively, and say not to touch one’s face. But most guidance stops there and fails to give unambiguous advice on when and how to limit gatherings, cancel big events, postpone travel and how, precisely, people should prepare for potential quarantines or hunkering down. Fear of inducing panic or creating economic hardships means most advice is framed as a personal choice, rather than a collective one.

In the absence of government leaders offering concrete plans, we need experts from outside the government right now more than ever. And we need them to be loud and definitive. We need them to bat down misinformation and to be brave enough to speak up with bold pronouncements. We need them to be calm but sober, to remind us that upending the normal routines of our lives is not in itself a reason to panic but a way to stave off needing to panic down the line. And finally, we need those in positions of authority — managers, community leaders, even household leaders — to heed and act on their advice.