‘Ensuring authenticity of data for COVID-19 stories has been a challenge’
In today’s edition of First Responders – our series on reporters on the frontline during the pandemic – we feature Anjali N Kumar, a Reporter with Mathrubhumi Daily
Anjali N Kumar, Reporter, Mathrubhumi Daily and mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, has been covering the COVID-19 pandemic for the publication in Ernakulam district since January. Today, when she is about to reach home, she calls her parents to distract her daughter in a different room, so that once she reaches, she gets time to clean herself, have a bath and then embrace her daughter who has been waiting for her all day.
Here’s what Anjali has to say about her work during these tough times.
What have you been covering specifically on the field and since when?
We started covering the COVID-19 pandemic from January, when it affected China. We did stories on Malayalis residing in China, about students studying there, etc. COVID-19 impacted Kerala in the first week of February. We then did stories on how it can spread in Kerala and the necessary precautions that the state should take.
From March, things changed and started getting darker. We did a lot of stories on scientific facts about the virus. We started collecting data from each district about affected people and survivors. I also wrote about a family from Italy that got admitted in the Medical College here and recovered; about a taxi driver who was admitted and how doctors and the health department were helping him overcome stress as well as the loneliness in his isolation period. We also try to bring some positivity through our news and stories with some light-hearted content too.
What has been your most challenging experience so far?
So far, every report that I do as a journalist has always been about ‘being there, seeing that and writing it’. However, in the current scenario access to places and people is limited. So actually seeing and meeting people for stories has been the biggest challenge due to the nature of the pandemic. We have to gather data through different sources, and hence ensuring authenticity of the data is a challenge. Also, to get contact details of the patients and the survivors is difficult.
As part of covering this pandemic, can you share any particular experience that moved you the most?
We get information from our sources about various people who have been impacted with the virus and have survived. We get to know several things about them and the struggles that they are going through, but we are not able to publish all of it. I was totally moved when I did a story about this Indian family, which had been working in Italy, and were visiting Kerala to spend time with their elder child (7 years old) who had been staying here. The couple’s younger child (two years old), who travelled with them from Italy to Kochi, tested positive for COVID-19 and the family was immediately quarantined at Kalamassery Medical College Hospital. The elder child had no clue that his parents were in such a position here. I was really moved to see the plight of these small kids. It impacted me more as my own child is just one-and-a-half-years-old.
When I was talking to a nurse working at Kalamassery Medical College isolation ward, I was also touched when I got to know that she had to stop breast-feeding her one-and-a-half-year-old baby to keep the little one safe from any kind of infection. Her child keeps crying for the mother but she doesn’t let that stop her from doing her duty at the hospital all day and night.
Do you/your family worry about your own safety?
Of course, the family is worried that I’m doing this but all they can say is ‘Stay safe’. We are taking all the necessary precautions. As soon as I reach home from work, the first thing that my child wants to do is hug me. But in the current scenario, I cannot embrace her without sanitizing myself and having a bath. I actually call my parents before reaching home so that they keep her distracted in another room when I come. Even when I am late, she will ask ‘Where is Mumma?’
What kind of support are you receiving from the company on reporting the COVID-19 pandemic?
We are getting maximum support from our organization. Mathrubhumi is a great platform that one can work with 100% safety.
Your message at the end of the day…
There are many people who are working very hard to stop this pandemic. They are risking their lives and doing their duty for all of us. I have seen people roam around for nothing. Please don’t do that. Let’s just be honest to all of our health workers, who work for us, for our safety. Just be at home and stay safe. It’s not only for you but for the whole society.
