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Present time has been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. People are grieving several non-death related situations: the loss of a job, of a status, of a role, of their life. Restrictive measures and uncertainty about the future makes individuals vulnerable to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Mental health support has been hindered and teams are reinventing themselves to reach people in need. Nevertheless, decompensation of previous psychiatric disorders, increasing levels of depression and anxiety, economical handicaps and fear of the infection, are prompting several cases of COVID-19 related suicides worldwide. Every suicide affects between 5 and 80 individuals, which are known as suicide survivors. Suicide grief is particularly challenging, with rates of complicated grief as high as 40%. Suicide survivors are at increased risk of developing depression, anxiety disorders and of suicidal behaviors. Moreover, feelings of guilt and shame, as well as social stigma, are major obstacles for them to reach form help. This article aims to review the existing literature on COVID-19 related suicides, complicated grief in suicide survivors and highlight modifiable risk factors for both conditions, as well as propose some public health measures to reduce the impact of the pandemic context on self-inflicted harm and its consequences on families, friends and the community. Obstacles to access to mental health support need to be overcome through the use of technology. Technicians should actively approach populations more vulnerable to develop suicidal ideation. Social media have the obligation to provide accurate an non-sensationalistic information. Families and friends should maintain social proximity, despite the need for physical distancing. When a suicide death occurs, police forces and health staff should be prepared to share the news with the family using an empathic and humane approach and providing psychological support. Funerals, memorials and other services should be held as much as possible. Closer contacts should be signalized and closely followed in order to detect the need for specific interventions. Help seeking behaviors should be promoted. Additionally, people should be educated on suicide and its impacts, in order to reduce stigma.

Objectives Since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pressure to minimise its impact on public health has led to the implementation of different therapeutic strategies, the efficacy of which for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was unknown at the time. Remdesivir (REM) was granted its first conditional marketing authorisation in the EU in June 2020. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and local health authorities all across the EU have since strongly recommended the implementation of pharmacovigilance activities aimed at further evaluating the safety of this new drug. The objective of this study was to evaluate adverse drug reactions (ADRs) attributed to either REM or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 in Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, a Portuguese hospital centre based in Lisbon. We present the preliminary results reporting plausible adverse effects of either HCQ or REM. Methods An observational cohort study was carried out between 16 March and 15 August 2020. Participants were divided into two cohorts: those prescribed an HCQ regimen, and those prescribed REM. Suspected ADRs were identified using an active monitoring model and reported to the Portuguese Pharmacovigilance System through its online notification tool. The ADR cumulative incidence was compared between the two cohorts. Results The study included 149 patients, of whom 101 were treated with HCQ and the remaining 48 with REM. The baseline characteristics were similar between the two cohorts. A total of 102 ADRs were identified during the study period, with a greater incidence in the HCQ cohort compared with the REM cohort (47.5% vs 12.5%; p<0.001). Causality was assessed in 81 ADRs, all of which were considered possible. Conclusions Real-world data are crucial to further establish the safety profile for REM. HCQ is no longer recommended for the treatment of COVID-19.

Marine litter is a global problem which has been negatively affecting the environment. Plastic materials are the most commonly found marine debris, with potential biological (not only for aquatic organisms but also for humans) as well as socio-economic impacts. Considering that it is an anthropogenic problem, society could play an important role to minimize it. Although a considerable amount of research has addressed the biological effects of plastics (micro(nano)plastics) on biota, few studies have addressed how scientific information is being transmitted to the public and the potential role of citizen environmental education. The current paper discusses known effects, researched topics and how scientific knowledge is currently being transmitted to the public.

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