From a Times Insider column “Reporting From a Center of the Coronavirus Outbreak”:
Mike Baker is the Seattle bureau chief for The New York Times. We asked him what it’s like reporting from the state with one of the deadliest caseloads in America.
What is an average day like for you right now?
I usually have been getting up between 6 and 6:30 and getting up to speed on what’s happening on the East Coast and what’s been happening in other parts of the world. Then I’ve spent a lot of time in the morning getting in touch with various state, local and federal officials to see what they’re hearing and what new developments might be coming. It seems like there’s something new every day.
Who do you contact to track down that information?
The state health agencies, the governors’ offices, the mayors’ offices, county leaders, and different hospitals and hospital groups that represent doctors and nurses.
There’s so much happening and so much changing in how we live our lives. I’m trying to keep track of all those changes and the ones we need to spend the most time writing about. . . .
What questions are you trying to answer?
Right now we’re entering this phase where most of the containment strategies are largely in place and we’re waiting for what kind of wave of cases hit the health care system. It feels like that struggle is just beginning, and we’re going to be monitoring that a lot in the next few days and weeks. . . .
How do you cover that?
Just last week I got a chance to go inside the hospital system where they had the most cases of patients die of the coronavirus in the country, and the staff members there were willing to talk with me. . . .
Does this feel like other reporting you’ve done before?
I don’t think there’s anything comparable to what’s happening.
Is this scary work to you? Or is it just something that comes with the job?
I think the risk of being out in the community and visiting a hospital is right there in your mind. But the virus is basically everywhere. In some ways, there’s a similar risk of going to a restaurant, before restaurants were closed, or going to a crowded grocery store, or filling your tank with gas. You have to look around and say, there are risks everywhere I go, and the reporting, in some ways, is an extension of that.
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