A Review of the Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Public Mental Health, with a Comparison Between the USA, Australia, and Poland with Taiwan and Thailand

Coronavirus may have a negative impact not only on physical, but also on mental wellbeing. Despite the different approaches of countries to stop the spread of the virus and different infection rates, the dynamically developing pandemic has already affected the entire world. The consequences of the coronavirus for our mental health can be divided into those related to strategies for the prevention of infection, like isolation, quarantine, limitation of social contacts, and remote work, and those related to the direct impact of infection on our nervous system. This review aims to highlight the global effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on public mental health following social restrictions, to identify how infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may have direct neurophysiological effects and to compare the impact on public mental health between the USA, Australia, and Poland with Taiwan and Thailand.