Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a contagious disease. Its potential psychological impact could involve fear of being contaminated by germs and dirt, which may lead to washing hands repeatedly until harm the skin.

To explore the incidence of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic among the Saudi general population, and to explore its correlation with stress and the associated factors.

A cross-sectional survey of a sample consisting of 2909 participants was conducted during COVID-19 outbreak consists of socio-demographic characteristics, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and The Brief Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (BOCS).

Most participants were female (73.9%) with university level or above (81%) and were disciplined with quarantine (75.6%). New onset symptoms of obsessive thoughts (worries about germs, dirt and viruses), and compulsive behavior (excessive hand washing) were reported by 57.8% and 45.9% of the participant. Participants who developed these symptoms only during CODIV-19 pandemic were significantly higher than asymptomatic participants or those who developed symptoms before the pandemic (p-value< 0.000). New onset symptoms were significantly more among participants with high stress (57.5% and 51.4%; p-value <0.000). Some sociodemographic characteristics were significantly associated with new onset OCD symptoms such as age group (40-49 years), employee in non-medical field, housewives, students, being disciplined and spending more days in quarantine (p- value<0.000, p-value<0.047, p-value<0.012, p-value<0.015).

This study revealed a significantly higher prevalence of high perceived stress in respondents with new onset OCD symptoms. This implies that bio disaster is associated with a high psychological morbidity which needs interventional programs.