西雅圖 a nursing home, and the dozens of deaths at a hospital in Kirkland, Wash.，人間煉獄：Reporting from a center of the outbreak

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Reporting from a center of the outbreak

Mike Baker, our correspondent in Seattle, has been reporting on the coronavirus outbreak for several weeks. He’s covered an outbreak at a nursing home, and the dozens of deaths at a hospital in Kirkland, Wash. Our Times Insider team spoke with him about what it’s like.

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 in other parts of the world. I’ve spent a lot of time in the morning getting in touch with various state, local and federal officials.

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 hits the health care system.

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.

A drive-up coronavirus testing station in Seattle this month.   Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

What did it feel like to be in that hospital?

It’s really hard to overstate how heartbreaking it is to follow these families and stories.

On the other hand, you have just incredible stories about the doctors and nurses who are on the front lines. A lot of them were exposed and sent into quarantine and then brought back because there was such a shortage of staff. Now they’re reusing equipment to the point where they have to wipe down their face shields with bleach wipes and their shields are foggy.