Secondary Emotional Reactions to the COVID-19 Outbreak Should be Identified and Treated in Korea

Abstract

A 35-year-old woman, who had previously lived in Wuhan, China, had been the first reported case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea in January 2020.1 As of April 13, 2020, cumulatively, 10,537 patients with COVID-19 have been reported in Korea, 217 of whom have died.2 Therefore, there is an urgent need for pro-active mental health care in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.3 Based on the speculation of Ofri,4 dynamic patterns in "emotional reactions (i. e, emotional epidemiology), " have been proposed, and may be inferred from the dynamic patterns in infections. According to the speculation of Ofri,4 the "emotional reactions" are based on the novelty of the infectious illness-associated logics and facts because the availability of medical data is limited during the pandemic of an infectious disease. While the introduction of a dramatic illness into societies may cause a rapid disturbance in the public psyche, the establishment of the novel disease within societies may create a certain level of emotional tolerance. Thus, considering the particular situation in Korea, it is proposed that from the psychological etiology-based perspective, emotional reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak may be differentiated into primary and secondary categories.