Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Mental Health Authority, Dr. Akwasi Osei has noted the outbreak of the coronavirus triggers fear and anxiety hence the need for attention to be given to mental health.

The mental health expert admonished Ghanaians not to fear and panic but rather adhere to the safety measures adopted to prevent the spread of the virus.

He told Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that, mental health disorder including anxiety, depression can worsen the situation, however, there are mechanisms in place to deal with such situations, he said.

He expressed optimism with experts currently researching into the outbreak, we will soon defeat it.

He appealed to Ghanaians to avoid reading everything that had to do with COVID-19 which might lead to fear and panic.

He advised the public not to only focus on only the negatives of COVID-19.

He believes when we take advantage of the positive side of the pandemic to build on skills and individual strengths.

The 2019 COVID-19 has gained global attention with several countries affected both economically and socially.

The outbreak was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March this year.

At a news briefing, WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that over the past 2 weeks, the number of cases outside China increased 13-fold and the number of countries with cases increased threefold. Further increases are expected.

He said that the WHO is “deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction,” and he called on countries to take action now to contain the virus. “We should double down,” he said. “We should be more aggressive.”

Countries have been criticised for their unpreparedness towards the outbreak, a situation which some experts have argued has affected the attention given to the mental health aspect amongst the public.