We lost an hour this week thanks to the switch to daylight savings time. Imagine what else could have happened if we’d had an extra 60 minutes to squeeze in more announcements about travel bans, school closings, the shutdown of professional sports leagues or concert cancellations. It was the week we learned about the need to "flatten the curve" and about why it's important for some people, including prime
ministers, to practise self-isolation. What a week. What! A! Week!
It was impossible to keep up with all the developments as COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic. There was a moment on Thursday when I had to take a short subway ride in Toronto, meaning my phone would disconnect from the outside world. While on the train, I wondered what surprise would await me when I emerged from the tunnel. Sure enough, as I reconnected with the world, there were half a dozen alerts telling me the NHL season had been suspended.
Everyone is looking for reliable, up-to-date information about the pandemic. Here at The Conversation, our global network had unprecedented traffic on Thursday. And then on Friday, Thursday’s traffic record was surpassed. Our platform team in Melbourne, headed by James Hill, worked overtime to make sure our site didn’t crash – a common occurrence at other news organizations when they experience an unexpected surge in readers. At one point, our global network had about 10 times the normal traffic. James and his team worked around the clock to make sure there were no disruptions. It takes a village to deliver quality journalism: expert
authors, knowledgeable editors and dedicated developers.
This story is changing so quickly, some COVID-19 articles can be made obsolete by the latest developments. But for your weekend reading, I’ve assembled some stories from the global network of The Conversation that provide needed information as this crisis continues.
Have a safe weekend and we’ll be back in your Inbox on Monday.
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