Health consultants in the East Village residential area said their phones have been ringing all day since the order to block off Shanghai on April 1.
It is known that this area is the financial center of the city, with 5 hotlines with 3 of them operating 24/7 with more than 100 volunteers providing consulting services in the context of the epidemic.
Sharing with Sixth Tone, a hotline employee said: "Within 8 working hours from 8am to 4pm, I received up to 40 calls."
Shanghai is facing a COVID-19 outbreak that is considered the worst since the pandemic began. The city recorded 6,311 new cases on April 1 and more than 36,000 infections in March.
Although this number is nothing compared to other countries in the world, it is a significant increase for China - a country that persists in its strategy of preventing and controlling the epidemic to the maximum, Zero-COVID.
COVID-19 not only affects the physical health of hundreds of millions of patients worldwide, it also causes extremely serious consequences for the mental health of many people.
Previously, the World Health Organization WHO acknowledged reports from countries and called on governments to increase support for people as the global anxiety and depression rate increased by 25% in the first "COVID year".
Sixth Tone quoted Zhu Wei as saying that the government-backed mental health hotline received more than 200 calls in March alone with each call lasting an average of 26 minutes. This number is said to have increased by about 20% compared to other times.
According to Zhu Wei, people who need advice from the hotline face different problems. "While there are people worried about the city's blockade, people needing help in buying medicine, many people calling without giving a specific reason from the epidemic.
However, we understand that their concerns are all around COVID-19. For example, recently, a couple called because of a dispute over their child's online learning.
If two years ago, the concerns of the Chinese people came from not knowing what this new pathogenic virus was, now, they are surrounded by many seemingly simple fears that could "eat" their souls.
Some people feel that the way they deal with the epidemic is just an avoidance. They left Wukong-uring when the virus began to appear here, then fled their hometown of Hubei when the number of cases increased and were now locked up in Shanghai when the city began to blockade.
They felt so worried that they mentioned post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because they were afraid of not having enough food, when they could not go out to the market and could not place orders on delivery applications due to overload.
Not stopping there, many Chinese people have purchased weekly consultation packages throughout the two years of the pandemic. In the context of the epidemic, having to stay at home a lot, they are worried about surrounding relationships, they feel helpless against the "power" of the virus.
Even with problems that are not too new, but because of the pressure of COVID-19, they feel more scared than ever. A girl living in Xuhui district was afraid that her cat would be attacked when reading the tragic news about animal abuse.
However, in this "poor" situation, many people feel lucky because they can find self-sufficient support groups.
Responding to Sixth Tone, a 28-year-old man using a mental health and meditation application with instructions said: "At the very least, now we can easily receive all the mental support. If the epidemic had happened 10 years ago, I am afraid that many people would not be able to overcome these psychological problems."
I find this a great comfort for the community as they know that this support is available and we are always here, regardless of whether they use the service or not, said Chelsea Chelsea Jones, a consultant from the Shanghai Nonprofit Community Center.
