Numbers have been key to reporting on the current coronavirus health crisis. Data on the geographic spread and the acceleration or deacceleration of the contagion have been the foundation for understanding the battle. National and global metrics on cases, deaths and recovery are the battlefield statistics we need to tell this story.

In a memo to staff on Friday, Managing Editor Brian Carovillano described how AP journalists in Rome and Milan continue to overcome major personal and professional challenges to produce compelling and competitive journalism during Italy’s coronavirus lockdown: