COVID-19: The Use of Fear to Control the Pandemic

Abstract

The ongoing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound social and economic impact globally [1]. In retrospect, the widespread fear generated by the current pandemic is not so different from that of other pandemics not so long ago. Although fear is typically associated with misinformation and panic, which usually worsens the situation, the fear of COVID-19 can be used to prevent more infections if combined with accurate public health information.