The novel coronavirus, COVID‐19, proliferates as a contagious psychological threat just like the physical disease itself. Due to the growing death toll and constant coverage this pandemic gets, it is likely to activate mortality awareness, to greater or lesser extents, depending on a variety of situational factors. Using terror management theory and the terror management health model, we outline reactions to the pandemic that consist of proximal defences aimed at reducing perceived vulnerability to (as well as denial of) the threat, and distal defences bound by ideological frameworks from which symbolic meaning can be derived. We provide predictions and recommendations for shifting reactions to this pandemic towards behaviours that decrease, rather than increase, the spread of the virus. We conclude by considering the benefits of shifting towards collective mindsets to more effectively combat COVID‐19 and to better prepare for the next inevitable pandemic.

中文翻译：

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死亡率的传染：大流行的恐怖管理健康模型。

新型冠状病毒COVID-19像一种物理疾病一样，以一种具有传染性的心理威胁而扩散。由于死亡人数的增长和覆盖率的不断提高，这种流行病有可能或多或少地根据不同的情况因素激活对死亡的认识。使用恐怖管理理论和恐怖管理健康模型，我们概述了对大流行的反应，包括旨在减少感知脆弱性（以及否认威胁）的近端防御，以及受意识形态框架约束的远端防御，在这些思想框架中象征意义可以被派生。我们提供了预测和建议，以将对这种大流行的反应转移到减少而不是增加病毒传播的行为上。