ABSTRACT
Background : The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant psychological impact on the General Public, Health Care Workers, Elderly, High-risk groups, etc. Higher fear is likely among the quarantine population. Aim of this study : To evaluate the fear and stress of individuals in quarantine; to determine the possible factors that are influencing the Psychological reactions of the individuals in quarantine compared to the general population; to provide a basis for future Government policies. Methods : A semi-structured questionnaire that included a pre-tested, 7-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was used for data collection. A total of 245 responses were received. Through random sampling, 50 participants each were chosen from the general and quarantine populations. p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results : Individuals in quarantine had a greater fear of COVID-19 compared to the general population (p=0.0059). Symptomatic fears like clammy hands (p=0.032), sleep disturbance (p=0.00026) and heart palpitations (p=0.000034) were commoner in the quarantine population. The younger age group in the quarantine population was comparatively more affected by News and Social media (p=0.00018). Getting a negative screening test resulted in lesser fear both in the quarantine (p=0.017) and general populations (p=0.002). Conclusion : The individuals under quarantine have greater fear possibly due to stressors like transmitting the infection to family, working on the frontlines, being in high-risk groups, losing jobs, and exposure to social media. However, negative screening tests were shown to reduce the fear.