It is a subtle law of life that difficulties increase by giving too much attention to them. This does not mean we should not know what is happening generally around us but spending time and energy on speculations and responses of fear and anxiety are obviously counterproductive.
Best of course is to turn the mind away from the difficulty and go about doing the things that you would want to do, things that would make you happy or grow. Given the time at hand that has come about for many who are locked in, one can spend it reading books that one wanted to read, going deeper into the books one has read and exploring new things that one may have wanted to do but could not due to time constraints. Apart from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother which are of course the very best in my view, books of Swami Vivekananda and the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna are very uplifting.
Fortunately there are many online learning activities from music to cooking that one can tap into. One can even take up an entirely new field such as the study of human nature as seen and understood from a spiritual point of view. Of course it is also necessary to do some regular exercises depending upon the feasibility especially deep breathing exercises. One can also spend some time practicing meditation if one has not done it so far.
If one wants to take a random pick of subjects, I would suggest watching well made documentaries on Space and Ocean life. It is very soothing to see the stars in wide space or to watch the creatures swimming in the sea. If one has a garden then one can spend time cultivating it and learning more about the flowers.
In short there is a whole world waiting out there for us to explore. In short just turning away the mind from the stress generating things and logging it onto beautiful aspects of life is better than finding strategies to counter the anxieties because when we do so the problem is still there in the background..
Be careful however not to follow the news too much. It is like a dark hypnotic spell where fear is unwittingly peddled out in the form of numbers and figures. They are there no doubt but let them be in its own place and let those who are meant to handle it do so. The rest need not over concern themselves with it beyond following whatever has been advised by the law of the land.
Alok Pandey
PS: To keep the flame of faith burning, which is the best armour against all kinds of adverse forces, read Her works, especially Prayers and Meditations. To be with Her books is in a way to be in Her company. Whenever fear tries to enter, call Her Name and tell yourself that you belong to the Divine Mother, and nothing adverse can come near you.
