Late last month, as the full weight of the COVID-19 crises was settling on the country’s shoulders, more than one in four American adults met the criteria that psychologists use to diagnose serious mental distress and illness. That represents a roughly 700% increase from pre-pandemic data collected in 2018.

By Alicia Adamczyk

CNBC Make It is posting a new financial task to tackle each day for a month. These are all meant to be simple, time-sensitive activities to take your mind off of the news for a moment and, hopefully, put you on sturdier financial footing. This is day five of 30.

(BOSTON) — Neil Diamond posts a fireside rendition of “Sweet Caroline” with its familiar lyrics tweaked to say, “Hands … washing hands.” A news anchor asks when social distancing will end because “my husband keeps trying to get into the house.” And a sign outside a neighborhood church reads: “Had not planned on giving up quite this much for Lent.”

By Michael Dregni

The World Health Organization offers advice on dealing with the mental-health toll of the pandemic.

By Michael O. Schroeder

As the coronavirus continues its rapid spread internationally and across the U.S., many Americans are heeding public health advice from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention to prepare for the possibility of a lengthy home stay.