64 Macworld • April 2020FEATURE
Apple has announced WWDC as late as mid-
April in past years, so the company has some time
to watch the spread of the virus and reach a final
decision. But it’s becoming clear that we’re entering
a period where international travel and large groups
of people in small spaces is not advisable.
The worldwide spread of a new virus isn’t
generally something that burns out in a couple of
months, which is why it’s likely that Apple is going
to have to find an alternative from an enormous
party with thousands of developers (and many key
Apple employees) in San Jose. So if WWDC as we
know it is unlikely to occur, what happens next?Why the cancellations matter
Let’s lead with the obvious: I’m not a doctor or
an epidemiologist. But it’s clear that this virus is
spreading around the world rapidly. While media
analyst Ben Thompson has suggested that
the virus might not be as fatal as was originally
feared, it is highly transmissible and it tends to
land an awful lot of people in the hospital with
serious symptoms.
As a result, perhaps the best reason to cancel
conferences is not to stop the spread of the virus,
but to slow its spread, because our existing health
infrastructure will be under intense pressure and if
a huge spike of patients happens, the hospitals will
be overwhelmed. A lot of people are going to get
the virus regardless, but the more we can reduce
the speed of the spread, the better our health
infrastructure can react and take care of patients.