As the pandemic unfolded in the beginning of last year, the world came to realise the value of the essential worker. It became evident that essential workers, along with frontline healthcare workers, were going to prove crucial to getting the world through this crisis. Societies all over the world recognised the value of the nurse, the tech-savvy preschool teacher, the grocery store clerk and the beat reporter anew. Health reporters, in particular, became crucial to keeping the public aware of the spread of the virus, the need to take it seriously and the ways in which to curb contagion. The government was slow to lockdown, slow to shut down travel and slow to draft a cogent public health strategy to deal with the approaching crisis. And, given a lack of transparency in the early days of the lockdown and a more general lack of data, health reporters had to constantly adapt to the changing needs of the viewing audience and the evolving landscape on the ground. This week, TNS spoke to three health reporters who were working on the field throughout the pandemic to get their insights into Pakistan’s handling of it and a closer look at the experience of risking exposure to get vital information to the people.

TNS: How was your experience of working in the field during the pandemic and how was your job complicated by the lack of data?

Afifa Nasrullah: There were lots of difficulties in terms of coverage, especially in the first wave of the pandemic. Going into the field, there was always the fear of getting infected and I was very careful about following the required precautions. Face-to-face interviews were always stressful and I was scared of bringing the virus back into my home and giving it to my family. Doctors were often too busy to speak to reporters and it was difficult to get accurate data. At the peak of the first wave, when there was a high mortality rate in hospitals the actual numbers were quite uncertain. Despite the fact that we were doing evaluations of the numbers of hospitalisations every day, it seemed that we weren’t getting the full picture.

Rabia Noor: It was very difficult at the start. Since I do field reporting and was covering Covid myself, it was very stressful to try and keep myself safe, especially during assignments in public places. For example, I reported on people not wearing masks in public, which was a high-risk situation. Sometimes we had to remove our own masks to speak into the mic. We were all trying to report data that we were able to verify or receive from official sources but that data was not always available. We had to do anecdotal stories to supplement our coverage and most reporters were not given personal protective equipment by their employers. It felt like we alone were responsible for our safety.

Zahid Chaudhry: When the first case of the coronavirus was recorded in March of 2020 in the Punjab, it was quite a scary situation. Even experts did not fully know yet how the virus was transmitted or how it was going to be dealt with. There was a learning curve for reporters as well and it took us some time to figure out how to protect ourselves. It was a very different experience for me as a reporter, but we were able to adapt to the situation quickly and start following the SOPs.

As far as the data is concerned, that is an ongoing controversy. In the beginning the results of the tests being conducted by the government were being conveyed to us with significant delays. But this has gotten better over time. The data that we receive from official sources now is quite streamlined and delivered in a timely fashion.

TNS: Tell us a story that resonated with you or that you find most indicative of what you learnt from your coverage.

Afifa Nasrullah: I learnt that being a reporter means you have to be selfless and do your job through thick and thin. I was once sent to interview a man who had fallen on the road outside the hospital while coming to seek treatment. He had had symptoms for 15 days before finally arriving at the hospital. I had to interview both him and his family members who brought him to the hospital. During this time, I also caught Covid.

Rabia Noor: In the beginning, when the government was attempting contact tracing, there was a man from Quetta who was employed as domestic labour. The family he worked for tested positive and so, he was tested as well. But he fled the city with his family before the results came back. It was later revealed that he left on a bus, infecting who knows how many people. In the early days, I reported on a wedding party, where someone who had come from abroad was Covid-positive. More than 20 people caught Covid from that event. People are not self-isolating after testing positive as much as they should, even now.

Zahid Chaudhry: During my coverage of the pandemic, there were many heartrending stories. June and July of last year, when there were a lot of deaths, especially among young doctors, was a rather difficult time. But one finds greater dedication to one’s job during difficult times because raising awareness about the virus was paramount. Lots of valuable lives were lost in June and July.

Something I highlighted in my coverage was the dearth of research throughout the pandemic that persists till today. No research mechanisms were set up in our institutions. This virus was new for the whole world but teaching hospitals and academic institutions around the world got to work on figuring out how to fight it. In Pakistan, we did not avail the opportunity to conduct much-needed research in a timely fashion.

TNS: How did the ground realities, such as carelessness in public spaces and the crises in hospitals dealing with Covid patients, compare with the government’s policies and their proclaimed successes?

Afifa Nasrullah: A lot of the talking points that come from the government were empty slogans. There seemed to be a great difference between the data we were being given and what we were observing on the ground. Despite the efforts by the government to spread awareness, there is still a lot of carelessness in public places. Throughout the pandemic food vendors and markets have operated carelessly. The government did devise policies and SOPs to curb the spread of the virus but there was a clear enforcement deficit.

Rabia Noor: The ground realities are completely different from the government’s claims. You don’t see the SOPs being followed anywhere today. Two days ago, I was given a clinical diagnosis of Covid by my physician in the hospital and the doctors wanted me to be in isolation. But since I am also pregnant, I was in need of medical supervision so they kept me in a ward with other patients. People at the hospital were coming up to me to chat despite the fact that I was suspected of having Covid. Another patient’s attendant was using a blanket that I had used earlier. Even inside hospitals the SOPs aren’t being followed correctly.

Zahid Chaudhry: The government made a lot of claims that never really materialised. The fact is the virus spread in Pakistan initially because the government did not sanction foreign travel and implement the right policies at the right time. In March, they announced that all frontline healthcare workers would be given a special allowance that would be equal to their basic pay. This policy was meant to come into effect at the start of April 2020 but, ten months later, that stipend has still not been given to health workers. This has had a demoralising effect on the frontline workers who are still battling the pandemic. In the early days of the pandemic, there were no testing sites available. Testing facilities could not be established at the main teaching hospitals, which wasn’t a particularly difficult task. It is still difficult for patients to get tested and there are delays in results.

During the first wave, the public did take the lockdown and SOPs very seriously. The use of masks and hand sanitiser was quite prevalent. In the second wave however, there is a lot of carelessness and only a small fraction of the population is still following the necessary precautions.

Health reporters, particularly in Pakistan (given the conditions they were working under), deserve to be acknowledged for their service. We are grateful to the reporters who took out the time to speak to us and were so incredibly open about their stories, particularly Dr Rabia Noor, who spoke to us from a hospital bed with pneumonia and a severe respiratory tract infection, although it has not been confirmed whether she has Covid-19.

Afifa Nasrullah is a reporter who has worked for C42, 24 News and DW.

Dr Rabia Noor is a broadcast journalist, writer and video blogger.

Zahid Chaudhry is a senior TV reporter, specialising in health coverage. He is currently the secretary of the Lahore Press Club.

The writer is a staff member. She can be found on instagram @amar.alam_literally