Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has posed major challenges to all aspects of healthcare. Malta’s population density, large proportion of elderly and high prevalence of diabetes and obesity put the country at risk of uncontrolled viral transmission and high mortality. Despite this, Malta achieved low mortality rates compared to figures overseas. The aim of this paper is to identify key factors that contributed to these favorable outcomes. Methods This is a retrospective, observational, nationwide study which evaluates outcomes of patients during the first wave of the pandemic in Malta, from the 7 th of March to the 24 th of April 2020. Data was collected on demographics and mode of transmission. Hospitalization rates to Malta’s main general hospital, Mater Dei Hospital, length of in-hospital stay, intensive care unit admissions and 30-day mortality were also analyzed. Results There were 447 confirmed cases in total; 19.5% imported, 74.2% related to community transmission and 6.3% nosocomially transmitted. Ninety-three patients (20.8%) were hospitalized, of which 4 were children. Patients with moderate-severe disease received hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, in line with evidence available at the time. A total of 4 deaths were recorded, resulting in an all-cause mortality of 0.89%. Importantly, all admitted patients with moderate-severe disease survived to 30-day follow up. Conclusion Effective public health interventions, widespread testing, remote surveillance of patients in the community and a low threshold for admission are likely to have contributed to these favorable outcomes. Hospital infection control measures were key in preventing significant nosocomial spread. These concepts can potentially be applied to stem future outbreaks of viral diseases. Patients with moderate-severe disease had excellent outcomes with no deaths reported at 30-day follow up.

We present a case of endocarditis secondary to disseminated Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection affecting the native tricuspid valve. After a thorough workup, our patient was treated conservatively with appropriate intravenous antibiotic therapy for 6 weeks. A follow-up echocardiogram showed resolution of the vegetation without any residual valvular involvement. Literature review reveals 99 cases of infective endocarditis which occurred secondary to N. gonorrhoeae infection, of which, only 4 cases (6%) affected the tricuspid valve. Through this case report, we highlight the importance of thorough history taking including a sexual and social history, as well as careful recognition of the clinical signs, which helped us reach this uncommon diagnosis while always maintaining a high clinical suspicion of rare causes of endocarditis.

A 47-year-old man, positive for SARS-CoV-2, was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) complicated by myocarditis on a background of COVID-19 pneumonia. He was medically treated for ACS; however, 3 days into his admission, the patient developed neurological complications confirmed on MRI of the brain. MRI showed established infarcts involving a large part of the left temporal lobe and right occipital lobe, with minor foci of micro-haemorrhagic transformation in the left temporal lobe. A left ventricular mural thrombus was then confirmed on echocardiogram, and this was attributed as the cause of his neurological infarct. Further infarctions in the kidneys and spleen, and thrombi in the superior mesenteric and left femoral artery were also identified on imaging of the abdomen. The left ventricular mural thrombus was removed surgically via a midline sternotomy incision under general anaesthesia. Surgery was successful and the patient was discharged to a rehabilitation centre.

We report a case of Mycobacterium avium complex immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (MAC-IRIS) in a patient with HIV positive. Initial presentation was that of a purpuric purple macular rash in-keeping with Kaposi sarcoma as an AIDS defining illness. Three weeks following the initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) she developed chest pain, dry cough and fever. A diagnosis of MAC was made through imaging and sputum cultures and appropriate treatment was initiated. Despite adequate management with evidence of good immunological and virological response, the patient represented with persistent symptoms. Repeat CT of the chest confirmed worsening lymphadenopathy with necrosis. Given these findings, a diagnosis of MAC-IRIS was made with resolution of fever after corticosteroids were initiated. This case highlights the importance of considering MAC as a cause of IRIS in severely immunosuppressed patients with HIV.

There is an error in the thirteenth paragraph of the Discussion section of this article [1]. Prior to the publication of this article [1], reference 26 was retracted by The Lancet and should not have been cited. The following text in the thirteenth paragraph of the Discussion should be removed: "More recent literature showed that hydroxychloroquine was associated with decreased in-hospital survival and an increased frequency of arrhythmias when used for . This led to temporary suspension of the HCQ arm within the Solidarity trial, however this was resumed again on June 3rd 2020 after reassessment of the data [27]." As a result of this correction to the Discussion text, references 26-27 are no longer cited in the article. The authors are not aware of further studies that associate hydroxychloroquine with decreased in-hospital survival.The Data Availability statement for this paper is incorrect. The correct statement is: COVID-19 case data were sourced from the publicly available Superintendence of Public Health, Malta (https://infogram.com/covid-19-malta-superintendence-ofpublic-health-1h7k23gorvzv4xr) and the Malta Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Directorate (https://geosys-mt.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ c17848aba0f94d79a4f57a7a584c4e8e) following the protocol outlined in the Methods section. A de-identified dataset underlying the clinical results is available from the Dryad repository (