The health ministry will conduct its first nationwide survey, possibly as early as next month, to look into how the coronavirus pandemic has affected mental health, according to ministry and other sources.
The online survey covering 10,000 people is expected to show whether the government’s requests to avoid unnecessary outings and voluntarily close businesses led to an increase in cases of depression and other forms of mental stress, the sources said.
The results are expected to be utilized by local mental health and welfare centers across the country in responding to cases of emotional distress amid signs of a resurgence in coronavirus infections.
Since the outbreak was first detected in China late last year and spread worldwide, COVID-19 has had a lingering impact on the mental health of people around the world.
The United Nations said in May that 45 percent of the population surveyed in the United States felt distress, and it urged governments and people around the world to do much more to protect the most vulnerable during and after the pandemic.
