The New Coronavirus Pandemic And Collective Fear Infection in the Middle East

Abstract

The new Coronavirus has become the subject of the hour now on the Middle Eastern and international media as a whole after this pandemic swept the word, reaping with it a terrifying number of lives at a time when the Middle East region was not ready to face such a virus, especially in light of all the conflicts that countries have been living in recently. However, this current situation is not the first epidemiological experiment for the Middle East as the region has witnessed throughout its long historical path a succession of a wave of diseases and epidemics that are still found in the collective memory of the community. Accordingly, this study aims to shed light on that historical period and to perform an analytical reading of the impact of the Coronavirus virus epidemic by talking about collective fear and its causes by examining people's reactions, which represent a general picture of the pattern of perception, thinking, and methods dealing with these difficult psychological and social terms as well as to address the impact of the media and social media in these current circumstances.