COVID-19: Fear grips journalists as community transmission looms

As cases of COVID-19 increase daily, concern about community transmission of coronavirus predicted by experts is rising among people living in slums and congested neighbourhoods. But the safety of journalists covering the pandemic has become a bigger worry. The nature of their work means they interact with different people without ascertaining their Covid-19 status. Journalists […]

As cases of COVID-19 increase daily, concern about community transmission of coronavirus predicted by experts is rising among people living in slums and congested neighbourhoods.

But the safety of journalists covering the pandemic has become a bigger worry.

The nature of their work means they interact with different people without ascertaining their Covid-19 status.

Journalists tell Daily Trust they are being more cautious of places they visit and people they interact with, citing safety concerns and availability of protective wear.

A TVC correspondent in Maiduguri, Jesse Tafida, said his reportage has concentrated more on the pandemic and the resulting lockdown to keep his audience abreast with happenings, but the incessant spread of the virus has changed the pattern of his work.

“There is little fear in us even though we take necessary precautionary measures such as face mask, gloves, sanitizers and observe social distancing whenever we want to interact with our sources,” he says.

“My organization has provided me the necessary support in that respect. Our major challenge is accessing source under the lockdown but we are coping well.”

A Daily Trust reporter in Abuja, Adamu Umar, said the situation has not stopped him from carrying out his duty of sourcing information from the public but stressed that he is leveraging the available protective gears to protect himself from the virus.

Another journalist in Jos, Ado Abubakar said his organization and the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Jos Chapter are providing him with protective measures and guidelines on how to protect himself from contracting the coronavirus in the course of his work.

On his part, Saminu Sani, who is working with Liberty TV & Radio, worries about the highly infectious nature of the virus and the ease of contracting it.

“Just like any member of the community, we are very afraid of the situation. It preys on how we interact with our sources and even our families,” Sani said.

“Our work exposes us to danger but of contracting the disease because of the nature of communities we go and personalities we interact with. Some people would put their hand out for a handshake, and when you refuse, they tend to get a different perception.”