Psychosocial Impact Due To COVID-19: Isolation and Quarantine
Author(s): Ritika Rao, Swarupa Chakole and Himabindu Reddy*
Abstract
During 2019 Coronavirus outbreak people have to isolate themselves at home or in quarantine facilities by the government of that country for containment of disease. Decision on quarantine was made based on the evidence. People's lives have been disrupted by quarantine, causing significant levels of stress and poor psychological effects. Post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, anger and other psychological impacts have been described in the majority of the studies done on COVID-19. Due to longer lockdown period, fear of getting infected, boredom, frustration, financial problems, family issues, isolation and community stigmas all were stressors of psychological impact on people health. Long term psychiatric effects have also been noted in several people and also been documented in several studies. Government should quarantine or isolate the people only if necessary for sufficient period of time and at the same time providing adequate supplies should be provided. Officials should also provide adequate information on quarantine protocols and methods to relieve stress. Government should provide the adequate information on the importance of quarantine and its contribution towards the community as a whole. To lessen stigmatization, broad education about the disease and the importance of quarantine, as well as its contribution towards public health, can be beneficial, while more focused information should be provided at schools and work places can also be beneficial. It has also been noted that media reporting has a great influence that leads to stigmatizing sentiments among the general public; the media has a strong influence on public opinion, and headlines which were shown dramatically and scare mongering have been demonstrated in the past to contribute to stigmatizing attitudes (e.g., during the SARS outbreak). This incident emphasizes the importance of public health experts communicating quickly and clearly to the entire impacted population in order to foster proper knowledge of the situation.