It is past noon and Mehtaj, 39, a teacher in Assam, is doing her “second round

of disinfection”. Wiping her car keys with antiseptic, she says, “I can’t stop
thinking about coronavirus and whether we’ve let it in by mistake. I am
petrified.”

The teacher and mother of one is not alone in her phobic reaction. The
isolation and fear in this lockdown era is driving an escalating nervousness
among many people. Not just those with pre-existing conditions like anxiety,
depression and OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), but also the elderly
who are struggling with new levels of loneliness and helplessness.

“I try not to read all the WhatsApp forwards,” says Mehtaj, even as she
obsessively continues to disinfect door knobs, furniture and kitchen
appliances. “I wash my son’s toys in Dettol; I put everything in the sun, even
vegetables and groceries.” As this goes to press, 16 people have tested
positive for coronavirus in Assam.