Background In December 2019, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection was first reported in Wuhan city, China, which had rapidly spread as a global pandemic. This infection was commonly presented by respiratory and/or gastrointestinal symptoms. However, it is still unclear whether COVID-19 infection could be associated with central nervous system (CNS) damage which would result in the development of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Case series The authors described five cases of suddenly emerged manic episodes during the pandemic of COVID-19. They all had positive findings of ribonucleic acid (RNA) tests for COVID-19 in specimens of sputum. The patients developed manic symptoms during the recovery period of their illness. We presented the symptoms and described the diagnosis, clinical course, and treatment of each case. Limitation The limited number of cases would limit the generalizability of the association. Moreover, the CSF PCR testing for the COVID-19 virus was not conducted simultaneously when a positive throat swap was recorded. Conclusion The case series of newly emerged manic symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection highlights the essential need for evaluation of mental health status and would contribute to our understanding of the potential risk of CNS affection by COVID-19 infection