Ms. Lee, aged 45, is a single Chinese American. She had no history of mental illness or depression before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
She lives alone and is an administrative officer of a garment trading company. After work, she frequently searched for the news about COVID and worried that the pandemic would cause a significant change in her life. She had a moderate level of diabetes, which meant a weaker defense mechanism against COVID compared to non-diabetics.
She foresaw people would buy fewer new clothes since most people were now working from home. Her company might earn less revenue, so they might reduce her income. Her friends were worried about catching COVID and would not meet her, which made her feel depressed. Her mother lived in an elderly care home that forbade her from visiting amid the pandemic….