coronaphobia

A phobia is a fear that is so irrational or so extreme as to impair our ability to function in a sane and sensible fashion.  It is reasonable to be anxious about coronavirus but it is not good when that anxiety becomes extreme. It leads us to do things like panic buying, which might seem relatively harmless, but it also leads us to feel fear in relation to people that we suspect of giving us the disease. This fear fuels an instant hatred.  Instead of working together we find people to blame, usually on the basis of well-worn racism or prejudice.