The advice for people in China struggling mentally to cope with the virus comes as schools and businesses delay reopening this week to help contain the spread of the SARS-like pathogen that has claimed more than 420 lives.

With public attractions closed, events canceled and citizens urged to stay home to avoid infections over the extended Spring Festival break, their psychological health is coming under the spotlight.

There is also growing concern over the well-being of healthcare workers on the frontline as the number of infections rises above 20,400.

Some provinces, such as Anhui in the east, have set up 24-hour hotlines for people mentally affected by the epidemic to talk to psychologists or psychiatrists, said state news agency Xinhua.

Health experts have offered suggestions on how to deal with the “extraordinary circumstances”.