Soledad O'Brien And WORLD Channel Take Viewers To The First Days Of COVID-19

Executive producer Soledad O'Brien brings a documentary examining the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US to WORLD Channel this Monday. Directed by filmmaker Rose Arce, Pandemic in Seattle transports audiences to the start of the outbreak of the coronavirus in Seattle, the first epicenter of the virus in the United States, by examining its effects on two of the hardest hit communities-the homeless and the elderly.

Pandemic in Seattle airs on WORLD Channel on September 7 at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT). A special exclusive interview with O'Brien will also launch that day on WORLD's YouTube Channel in honor of the airing.

Following three women, the film examines how city officials and everyday citizens tried to grapple with a health crisis unlike anything seen before in modern America:

• Following Patty Hayes, the Seattle and King County public health director, the film provides viewers with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how the public health sector attempted to prevent the spread of the virus and isolate infected individuals while also working to educate a scared public.
• In Stevie Habedank, a homeless woman living in a car with her family, audiences get an up-close look at how the COVID-19 emergency upended life for those affected by Seattle's homelessness crisis. With nowhere to shelter in place, how will they be able to protect themselves from the virus?
• Through Katherine Kempf, whose father resides in the Kirkland Life Care Center, audiences watch a prototype of a story that would later play out across the nation as a daughter struggles to keep her young family safe at home while fighting to get honest answers about what is happening to her parent in a nursing home that was considered the "epicenter of the Coronavirus."

Pandemic in Seattle will air on Monday, September 7 at 9pm ET (8pm CT) as part of the WORLD Channel series Local, USA, the half-hour series dedicated to showcasing stories from across America.

Viewers can also visit the WORLD YouTube Channel 'Beyond the Lens' interviews with O'Brien and director Rose Arce on the making of the film (on September 4) and a look at O'Brien's experiences as a journalist and filmmaker (September 7).