Those studies, which reported that mental health and well-being was substantively lower than pre-pandemic normative estimates, may have captured the immediate, acute shock of a global pandemic following a severe bushfire season. However, the majority of studies examining the mental health and well-being effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia are based on cross-sectional data collected in the early days of the pandemic, when public health orders were not as strict and threat of community transmission was lower (i.e. 12 COVID-19 infections and associated restrictions have also shown to contribute to, or exacerbate, existing chronic mental illness, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance misuse. 8, 10, 11 Furthermore, mandatory contact tracing and quarantine have contributed to feelings of anxiety and guilt about the effects of infection, quarantine and stigma. 6, 9 Other downstream effects of public health measures, including job losses and reduced financial resources, have also adversely affected mental health. 4– 8 COVID-19 restrictions have also affected social connectedness, with reports of increased social isolation and loneliness associated with increased psychological distress. 3 Studies have reported increased levels of psychological distress and symptoms of depression and anxiety compared with pre-pandemic levels. For these reasons, an international call to action was made for high-quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial to understand how the virus itself and associated restrictions affected the short- and long-term mental health and well-being of people, and how these factors track over time. Although public health restriction measures were necessary to ‘stop the spread’, particularly in the absence of vaccines in the early stages of the pandemic, there have been psychosocial (and economic) costs as a result. These occurred in the context of fear and anxiety about how the COVID-19 virus might affect individuals, communities, healthcare services and society. 1 Unprecedented public health measures and restrictions were globally imposed, including working from home mandates, childcare and school closures, restrictions on travel and activities, and physical distancing/quarantine/isolation measures for significant periods of time. The potential for the COVID-19 pandemic to affect mental health and well-being was recognised early on in the pandemic, as a result of concerns around contracting the virus itself as well as from the measures used to contain its spread.

Australian lockdown measures