Fig. 1

a. Mental health support system in response to COVID-19. In this model, the national/local government is in charge of coordination between departments. The mental health expert team consists of mental health experts in crisis intervention and has three major responsibilities: to provide policy-making consultation to the national or provincial Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism, to offer professional training and supervision for social volunteers, and to provide psychoeducation for the general public. The psychological rescue team comprises psychiatry and psychology staff as well as liaison officers. The psychological rescue team is mainly responsible for providing health education, psychological crisis intervention, consultation-liaison psychiatry service for both healthcare workers and patients inside wards. The psychological assistance team includes psychologists and professionals who are experienced in psychological crisis intervention. They take up the role of online counseling. Social supportive forces are composed of social workers, non-governmental organizations and social volunteers, who provide psychosocial support during the epidemic. b. Four different populations with varying levels of mental health needs according to the intensity of psychologiBBcal stressors related to COVID-19 epidemic