'The earlier you act, the more impact': how Seattle tech industry led on Covid

Technology companies rallied to apply their expertise as King county went from the US center of the pandemic to one of the country's lowest death rates

Last year, four days after the first recorded Covid-19 death in the United States was reported in Kirkland, Washington, just east of Seattle, Microsoft leaders jumped into action - recommending that their employees in the area work from home. Two days later, Amazon made a similar declaration.

Combined, their announcements affected more than 100,000 employees in this Pacific north-west tech hub and came days before the Washington state governor's first major Covid mandate and about a week before the US president declared an emergency for Covid.