I’m going to be honest for a second. I am absolutely dreading going to work today. Being a journalist is one of the greatest jobs on the planet. Truly. But being the bearer of bad news, day in end day out: it’s hard. It’s been really hard.

But the job gets exponentially harder when multiple people you know and love are getting sick with covid-19. Because the numbers keep climbing. And, my colleagues and I can’t turn it off or walk away: it’s the gig.

So we keep swimming in the muck to get answers. To keep people accountable. To share important, life-saving information and data. To keep talking to patients and frontline workers of all kinds.

These covid-19 numbers aren’t *just numbers.* These are people. These are people who are just trying to survive to get to the point that they can now worry about how the after effects are going to impact the rest of their life.

I’m not saying this to scare you. I’m saying this because I’ve talked to dozens and dozens of people who’ve had covid-19, and many who are also still fighting. And, the families of the ones who cannot speak for themselves.

The next round of our Faces of Covid-19 series is is the works and we will share it soon. But know: I don’t *want* to interview you. I would rather you never contract covid-19 at all.

Please follow the guidelines. Please wear your mask. Please keep your distance. I want to be able to celebrate with as many of you as I can when this is over.