| Objective To understand the characteristics and rules of the public psychological state in the epidemic of COVID-19, and to provide practical guidance for psychological intervention and protection. Methods The online psychological survey method was used to investigate the psychological state of the public in the current COVID-19 epidemic. Results From January 24 to February 1, 2020, a total of 36 799 questionnaires were distributed among all the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China, and 36 636 valid questionnaires were recovered. The effective rate of recovery was 99.56%. Among the population, 58.5% believed that infectious diseases were the most harmful to human, 99.0% believed that the epidemic had caused panic, tension and fear in the society, 24.3% had sleeping problems during the development of the epidemic, 55.5% thought that the alertness among the persons was enhanced and 9.7% thought that people lack trust in each other. Conclusions During the epidemic, the public’s cognition has been obviously biased, showing panic and nervousness, tense interpersonal relationship and significantly strengthened self-protection awareness and behavior. Therefore, the public’s panic, anxiety and cognitive bias should be fully taken into account in the maintenance of mental health. The epidemic information should be promptly and truthfully publicized during the development of the epidemic, and the role of public opinion-oriented publicity should be strengthen. |