COVID-19 has brought a raft of intense new stressors while removing many of the resources people have traditionally used to cope with stress. Millions of people have lost their jobs; some have lost their homes or businesses. Families cooped up together because of stay-at-home orders are chafing under the stress, which may increase the risk of intimate partner violence and child abuse. Disrupted routines and the potential for contracting a life-threatening disease may be exacerbating preexisting problems such as mental illness or substance use.

The doctor in charge of a Bay Area, Calif. trauma center said the state should end its lockdown orders after an “unprecedented” spike in suicide attempts amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve never seen numbers like this, in such a short period of time,” Dr. Mike deBoisblanc, head of trauma at John Muir Medical Center, told local station ABC7. “I mean, we’ve seen a year’s worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks.” He added that he thinks “it’s time” to end the state shutdown.

WHEN THE PANDEMIC seized New York, Dr. Lorna Breen, a 49-year-old emergency room doctor who worked at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center, found herself in the trenches alongside physicians toiling through 18-hour days and sleeping in hospital hallways.