Therapists, counselling hotlines and online wellness groups in China are struggling to cope with surging demand for emotional help as the coronavirus outbreak upends normal life.

A shortage of mental health providers is exacerbating the problem in the country where unprecedented measures to contain the deadly outbreak have left tens of millions in lockdown and many more fearful to go outside.

“Every day we have about 20 callers. Some have watched their relatives perish without access to medicine in the early days of the virus, when there weren’t enough hospital beds,” said a psychologist surnamed Xu, who works at a hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic.

“Most calls are from coronavirus patients worried about slow results after medical treatment or those anxious about being infected.”

As the crisis drags on and quarantine orders remain in place, many are struggling with the uncertainty over how long they will be kept in isolation.

That is fuelling boredom, loneliness, and anger, said Chee Ng, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Melbourne.

“The longer the quarantine, the worse the mental health outcomes,” Ng said.

While frontline workers have borne the brunt of the mental stress caused by the virus, which has infected more than 80,000 people in China, many others are feeling the strain.