Mental health crisis of Pakistanis population during COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The first country that was affected by pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 was China. Several exclusive features of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and its managing policies globally provoked a sharp public mental health crisis. Pakistan is one of the endemic countries for various infectious diseases and has experienced many outbreaks and epidemics every year which effects it's economy and social life (WHO 2016). SARS-CoV-2 is considered as more contagious than MERS and SARS, with case fatality rate of (6.92%). The ambiguous incubation period and likely asymptomatic transmission of the virus have induced anxiety and fear in the public of Pakistan. Second, extraordinary large scale quarantine actions in all main cities, which basically restrict peoples to their families, caused negative psycho-social impact on citizens. Third, reports of deficiencies personal protective equipment's, medical staff, hospital beds, isolation wards, medicines and sanitizers in Pakistan provoked panic in public. Last, a surplus of misinformation on NEWS and social media increased the fear in public (WHO 2019) and poses major risk to public psychological healthiness during this health crisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)