Author(s)

Alberto Abad¹, Juliana Almeida da Silva^2,3*, João Vitor Zamana das Neves Braga⁴, Priscila Medeiros^2,3,5, Renato Leonardo de Freitas^2,3,5,6, Norberto Cysne Coimbra^2,3,7, José Aparecido da Silva^8*

¹Department of Psychology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
²Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
³Behavioural Neurosciences Institute (INeC), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
⁴State University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil.
⁵Laboratory of Neurosciences of Pain & Emotions and Multi-User Centre of Neuroelectrophysiology, Department of Surgery and Anatomy, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
⁶Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL), Alfenas, Brazil.
⁷NAP-USP-Neurobiology of Emotions Research Centre (NuPNE), Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
⁸Laboratory of Psychophysics, Perception, Psychometrics, and Pain, University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

The COVID-19 started in China and took over the world becoming a pandemic, arriving in Latin America in mid-February 2020. The South American continent is going through a delicate political, economic, and social moment that reflects the fragility of our health systems and science, contagion rates reduction strategies, and health services overload. Nevertheless, several studies are being carried out in Brazil and worldwide aiming to understand the characteristics of the disease and the cure of people infected by the coronavirus. Therefore, we must consider science-based strategies to combat the pandemic and promote a health system that takes care of the population.

Mental Health, COVID-19, Psychological Reactions

Abad, A. , da Silva, J. , das Neves Braga, J. , Medeiros, P. , de Freitas, R. , Coimbra, N. and da Silva, J. (2020) Preparing for the COVID-19 Mental Health Crisis in Latin America—Using Early Evidence from Countries that Experienced COVID-19 First. Advances in Infectious Diseases, 10, 40-44. doi: 10.4236/aid.2020.103005.