Part 5/12:
The Challenge of Diagnosing COVID-19
Detecting COVID-19 required specific diagnostic testing. The gold standard was the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test, which detects viral genetic material with high sensitivity. The swift development and deployment of PCR testing were crucial; genomic data rapidly revealed that the virus shared about 80% similarity with the original SARS virus but with a vastly higher viral load—up to a thousand times more viral copies per sample. This meant COVID-19 was significantly more effective at spreading, escalating concerns about the potential scale of outbreaks.