To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week between 18-24 November 2020, we are pleased to present a Special Section on Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Stewardship in the JHI November issue. The Special Section features original research into the impact of a dry inoculum deposition on the efficacy of copper-based antimicrobial surfaces from McDonald et al., a social ecological qualitative analysis on the empowerment of nurses in antimicrobial stewardship from Wong et al., an inspection of excess mortality due to pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections in hospitalized patients from Karakonstantis et al., and more. Review articles include a comparison of hospital antimicrobial stewardship programmes in the Gulf Cooperation Council states against international standards by Hashad et al., and a review of acquisition of MDR-GNB in hospital settings from Vink et al. The Special Section is led by an editorial from the JHI team asking whether antimicrobial stewardship has been a casualty of COVID. The November edition also includes work on COVID and SARS-CoV-2, with research into the impact of the media in France on public perceptions of face masks, the unintended consequences of long-sleeved gowns in a critical care setting, and a review of environmental contamination in the isolation rooms of COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation or high-flow oxygen therapy.