Wudan Yan is a Seattle-based journalist and has been covering the COVID-19 pandemic for different publications. She tells us that this is the fastest moving disaster she has ever covered. Her other work has involved reporting on environmental damage from palm oil and the Rohingya refugee crisis.

The coronavirus has infected around 236,72 million people and caused more than 4,83 million deaths. The global scale of this pandemic has forced countries around the world to take serious measures, including closing borders and imposing quarantines. This has increased multidimensional challenges to the journalists who are reporting on this story, from all across the world. In addition to tackling the very mechanical side of reporting stories connected to COVID-19; from impact on human life, to overwhelming medical systems around the world to how this pandemic is challenging countries to offer better governance, journalists are yet again on the front line. Whether they report in quarantine, from behind a desk or from the street covering life at large, the risk of safety for these reporters demands a vigorously thoughtful approach.

The spread of Covid-19, a new frontline for journalists.

The Coronavirus has infected close to 340,000 people and caused more than 14,700 deaths. The global scale of this pandemic has forced countries around the world to take serious measures, including closing borders and imposing quarantines. This has increased multidimensional challenges to the journalists who are reporting on this story, from all across the world. In addition to tackling the very mechanical side of reporting stories connected to Covid-19; from impact on human life, to overwhelming medical systems around the world to how this pandemic is challenging countries to offer better governance, journalists are yet again on the frontline. Whether they report in quarantine, from behind a desk or from the street covering life at large, the risk of safety for these reporters demands a vigorously thoughtful approach.