Alabama's total of Coronavirus cases is now at 783, with four deaths. That fourth fatality is in Mobile County, which has thirty nine cases of its own. Another issue connected to the COVID-19 outbreak is the mental health impact. Video of people fighting over toilet paper in supermarkets has made the news lately. Dr. Thaddeus Ulzen is the chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at University Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. He says sheltering at home is leaving people with the feeling that their lives are out of control and the toilet paper fights are a sign of that.
"Very much so, I mean, I think everybody is feeling out of control, experiencing a lot of uncertainty, so people start trying to exert control in areas of their lives where they can have control, even if it’s not particularly meaningful," says Dr. Ulzen.
The mental health issue isn’t just for average Alabamians. A recent study of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic shows up to sixty percent of doctors and nurses are experiencing depression and anxiety.
