Background The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was recently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The first confirmed case in Saudi Arabia was announced on March 2, 2020. Several psychiatric manifestations may appear during pandemics, especially among frontline healthcare providers. Objectives This study sought to explore depression and anxiety levels among healthcare providers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 502 healthcare providers in the Ministry of Health. Depression and anxiety were assessed via the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) questionnaires, respectively. Results The respondents represented various healthcare occupations: administrators (28.49%), nurses (26.29%), physicians (22.11%), non-physician specialists (13.94%), technicians (6.77%), and pharmacists (2.30%). The majority of them were male (68.1%). More than half of them had depressive disorder (55.2%), which ranged from mild (24.9%), moderate (14.5%), and moderately severe (10%) to severe (5.8%). Half of the sample had generalized anxiety disorder (51.4%), which ranged from mild (25.1%) and moderate (11%) to severe (15.3%). Multivariate analysis showed that males were significantly less predicted to have anxiety (Beta = −0.22, P-value <0.04), 30–39 years age group were significantly more predicted to have depression and anxiety group (Beta = 0.204, P-value <0.001 and beta = 0.521, P-value <0.003 respectively), and nurses had significantly higher mean score of anxiety (Beta = 0.445, P-value <0.026). Conclusions This study revealed that depression and anxiety are prevailing conditions among healthcare providers. Although efforts were accelerated to support their psychological well-being, more attention should be paid to the mental health of female, 30–39 age group and nursing staff. Promoting healthcare service as a humanitarian and national duty may contribute to making it a more meaningful experience in addition to advocating for solidarity, altruism, and social inclusion. Longitudinal research studies need to be conducted to follow up on healthcare providers’ mental health symptoms and develop evidence-based interventions.

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IntroductionPsychological well-being has an important impact on individuals. In the face of the health threat of COVID-19, psychological changes as fear stress anxiety and depression is reported.ObjectivesExplore the prevalence of depression and anxiety among people under quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 65 participants who were quarantined at multiple hotels under the supervision of the Saudi Ministry of Health. The patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire (GAD-7) were used to assess depression and anxiety.ResultsThe majority of the participants were male (66.2%), aged 18–29 (47.7%) from the Eastern region (66.15%), who were still waiting for the result of the COVID-19 test (64.6%). Approximately half of the sample had depressive and anxiety symptoms (49.2% and 44.6%, respectively). The depression mean score was significantly higher only among the 18–29 age group. However, the depression and anxiety mean scores were higher among females than males and among participants with positive COVID-19 test results compared to those who had pending or negative results. The anxiety mean score was higher during the first week of quarantine, but the depression mean score was higher during later weeks.ConclusionsDepression and anxiety were prevalent among people in quarantine during the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia. It is crucial to study the most effective interventions to reduce the psychological consequences, especially for vulnerable groups. Longitudinal research studies need to be conducted to follow up regarding participants’ mental health symptoms and evidence-based interventions.DisclosureNo significant relationships.