Let’s just state the obvious: 2020 stinks. It has been a terrible year in many metrics, no matter where you live in this celestial orb. So, let’s do something a little different this time for our 20 most-read stories. We will have two lists: the top 5 stories related to COVID-19 and everything. So, if you had more COVID coverage than you can, please – go ahead with our blessing. If not, come on:
2020 under review, section COVID
5. Here’s what WHO says your mask should have to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Something we are proud of throughout our 22-year history is that we educate people. When we released it in late 1998, it meant covering things like overclocking Celerons. In 2020, we did the same thing, but with COVID-19. Therefore, it is appropriate that the first COVID-only countdown story is about choosing a good mask.
At the beginning of the pandemic, there were mixed messages on the masks, and it was not until late spring that the World Health Organization issued guidelines to mask the public. “This is a new survey, commissioned by WHO, that we did not have a month ago,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical leader in the COVID-19 response. In short, three-layer masks are best, with hydrophobic material on the outside and hydrophilic materials on the inside.
4. SARS-CoV-2 looks like a hybrid of viruses from two different species
To treat the new coronavirus, you need to grok it. Or as Jay Timmer said,
One of the oldest questions about this pandemic is simple: where did it come from? How did a virus that had apparently never infected a human before suddenly appeared in our species, equipped with what it needed to scan the globe in China in a matter of months?
What we learned from studying SARS-Covid-2 will help us when the next pandemic arrives. Hopefully, we have at least another century until that happens.
3. The results of the trial remdesivir COVID-19 have been released and are good news
At our current point in 2020, this Jonathan Gitlin story is a great illustration of how treatment modalities evolve as more research is done and data is accumulated. In the early days of the pandemic, remdesivir, an antiviral developed in response to Ebola outbreaks, looked like a promising treatment route. And in the study that we reported in May, it certainly was: study participants infected with COVID-19 saw their recovery time drop from an average of 15 days to 11 days.
But remdesivir was not the innovative treatment we all expected. In fact, a large global study that reported results in October showed that remdesivir does not do much in the treatment of COVID-19. “Between the two groups, WHO found that remdesivir did not reduce mortality. It also did not change how many patients progressed to the need for mechanical ventilation, nor did it change the proportion of patients discharged after seven days of hospitalization,” wrote Beth Mole .
2. Failed CDC coronavirus tests have been contaminated with coronavirus, the Feds confirm
Another of the early days of the pandemic. In this case, it is a story that portended the difficulties faced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. Since COVID-19 was in the early stages of its march through the United States in February, the CDC sent laboratory test kits to the states. There was a big problem: the kits themselves were contaminated with SARS-CoV-2.
“It was just tragic,” said Scott Becker, executive director of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, at the time. “All that time when we were sitting there waiting, I really felt like we were in one of the most critical moments in public health history, and the biggest tool in our toolbox was missing.”
1. Don’t panic: the comprehensive Ars Technica guide for coronavirus
This was also the most widely read story of the year (and one of the most widely read stories of the past decade on Ars). Updated more than 20 times in a month, this guide was an invaluable resource for our readers in the early stages of the pandemic.
Almost 10 months after the initial publication, with the first respondents being vaccinated, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. It may be weak, but it is there and it is approaching. So let’s end this section of the 2020 recap with a reminder from our comprehensive guide.
You must be concerned and take it seriously. But you must not panic.