BuzzFeed News pulled its reporter from her planned coverage of the White House over concerns about the coronavirus on Tuesday.
Kadia Goba was set to work a shift with the White House press pool on Wednesday.
The White House press pool is a team of reporters and photographers from wire news services, newspapers, news sites, television channels, and radio outlets. They pool their resources to be able to provide full coverage of the president to the wider press corps, not just their own outlet.
Matt Mittenthal, a spokesman for BuzzFeed News, confirmed the withdrawal to the New York Times.
“Anyone that knows me understands I’d rather be at the White House working today,” said Goba, “but at the same time, there are obvious concerns about working indoors during an outbreak.”
“I don’t want to be knocked out for the rest of the election because I’m sick,” she added.
It was determined that Politico reporter Meridith McGraw would serve the shift instead.
The president, several of his senior staff members, and two White House residence staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. At least three members of the White House press corps have tested positive as well, leaving some members of the media fearing for their health.
“We are an association of individuals with different risk tolerances, health statuses, family obligations, and corporate policies, and it is critical that we consider all of those before embarking on a pool assignment,” the White House Correspondents Association board said in a statement. “We are also all committed professionals who have worked under challenging circumstances to sustain the pool for the last seven months. Being there to ask the important questions is vital to the American public that relies on us for information.”
