Alicia Zambrano Quiroz* and Milagro Cantillo Padilla
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent orders issued to prevent its spread can lead to the appearance of mental health symptoms, both in people who have been infected with the virus and in the rest of the population that has been affected by the uncertainty associated with a pandemic and by the indirect effects on mental health, associated with loneliness, lack of social interactions, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, among others, giving figures that confirm this in older people and people with chronic illnesses; children and adolescents; people who are helping with the response, such as doctors and other health care providers; and people who have mental health problems. As such, people in social isolation, with restricted mobility and little contact with those around them are more vulnerable to psychiatric complications, ranging from isolated symptoms to the development of a mental disorder, such as insomnia, anxiety, depression and post- traumatic stress disorder. The mental health and well-being of entire societies have been severely affected by this crisis and it is a priority to address these two elements as a matter of urgency. However, people caught in fragile humanitarian settings or conflict situations are at risk of having their mental health completely overlooked.
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