Local news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic
Aug 03, 2020
Gina Cole of The Seattle Times
Local news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic
In mid-January, a Snohomish County man received the United States' first known diagnosis of COVID-19, a disease caused by a mysterious new type of coronavirus. The following month, a patient at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland was our nation's first known death from that disease. Since then, as the pandemic has unfolded, the Seattle Times newsroom has been providing daily live updates, resources and public-service reporting. Our coverage helps readers grasp scientific complexities, holds public officials accountable and dives into problems that allowed the virus to spread silently in Washington state for weeks.
Gina Cole has been a journalist for more than a decade, the last six and a half years at The Seattle Times. She was cum laude at Western Washington University, where she was named the journalism department's outstanding graduate of that year. She has held a variety of roles at The Seattle Times; she currently edits morning breaking news as well as running the newsroom's coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.