False-Negative RT-PCR Findings and Double Mutant Variant as Factors of an Overwhelming Second Wave of COVID-19 in India: an Emerging Global Health Disaster.

RT-PCR is considered to be the standard gold diagnostic test for detecting COVID-19 causing SARS-CoV-2. Recent reports and recent pieces of evidence from scientific literature, however, tell a different story. There have been speculations of SARS-CoV-2 escaping the RT-PCR because of the series of mutations it has gone through. It is possible that host-dependent RNA editing and high person-to-person transmission have equipped the virus with mutations enabling it to spread faster and even evade the RT-PCR. Added to this is burnout among healthcare workers and technicians handling the RT-PCR machines and sampling. All of these factors may be working in unison to result in the deluge of false-negative cases India is facing during the second COVID-19 wave. The mutant strains are spreading to other parts, posing challenges to the whole world. These circumstances warrant supplementary diagnostic tests such as serological and radiological findings to deal with cases of high clinical suspicion. Even one misdiagnosed COVID-19 patient poses a risk to hundreds of others in the vicinity. Healthcare workers' burnout also has to be dealt with. Erroneous staff should be re-trained.

Epidemic of plague amidst COVID-19 in Madagascar: efforts, challenges, and recommendations.

The plague has been wreaking havoc on people in Madagascar with the COVID-19 pandemic. Madagascar's healthcare sector is striving to respond to COVID-19 in the face of a plague outbreak that has created a new strain on the country's public health system. The goal and activities of the gradual epidemic of plague in Madagascar during COVID-19 are described in this research. In order to contain the plague and the COVID-19 pandemic in this country, we have suggested long-term recommendations that can help to contain the outbreak so that it may spread to non-endemic areas.

COVID-19 and mucormycosis syndemic: double health threat to a collapsing healthcare system in India.

In addition to the overwhelming and uncontrollable second wave of COVID-19 in India, the country is also dealing with an outbreak of mucormycosis, a deadly fungal infection, which is affecting thousands of COVID-19 patients. With the increasing number of cases of mucormycosis and a fatality rate of 50%, many Indian states and union territories have declared an epidemic of black fungus due to its unprecedented emergence, which has adversely affected the already debilitated health system of the country. The advent of the new fungal epidemic in the country is due to the overdosage, panic and injudicious use of corticosteroids among COVID-19 patients, as well as their pre-existing medical history of diabetes, given that India is the diabetes capital of the world. Thus, there is an urgent need to address this public health concern by having nationwide surveillance, diagnostic and management system of the disease, along with public awareness and education to combat the syndemic of COVID-19 and mucormycosis in the country.

Typhoons During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines: Impact of a Double Crises on Mental Health.

The Philippines, a disaster-prone country in Asia, was hit by 22 tropical cyclones during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Among the 22 tropical cyclones, 1 is recorded as the strongest tropical cyclone that made a landfall in world history. The recurrent typhoons in the Philippines during the pandemic have led to a long-lasting humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of houses and collateral assets have been destroyed due to floods and landslides, leaving thousands of Filipinos homeless. Concurrently, the country has been experiencing a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases due to overcrowding in evacuation centers and lack of social distancing. The simultaneous existence of natural disasters and pandemic has caused devastating and detrimental effects to the mental health of Filipinos. Nonetheless, the Government of the Philippines, together with the World Health Organization and other humanitarian organizations, has been working hand-in-hand in implementing mental health approaches and providing psychological interventions to Filipinos who were greatly affected by the natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.