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The Straits Times
Hazlin Hassan Malaysia Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur
PublishedJul 13, 2021, 5:00 am SGT
https://str.sg/3J2X
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Social isolation, financial worries and difficulty in constantly adapting to changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic are some possible reasons that the number of reported suicide deaths among those aged 60 and above has hit a 29-year high.
Latest figures from the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) showed there were 154 suicide deaths in this age group last year, a 26 per cent increase from 2019.
The figure is the highest for this age group since 1991, the year SOS started tracking suicide statistics.
SOS chief executive Gasper Tan said: Covid-19 has severely affected the nation s economy, lifestyle and mental health. We are extremely worried about how our elderly are coping during this public health crisis.
July 09, 2021
A man applies finishing touches to graffiti representing a vaccine, amidst the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Kolkata, India, on Jan 2, 2021.
Reuters
Farhana Sultana has her eight-day-old baby in her hands, while her two other children – aged five and seven – play outside her tiny house in the western Indian city of Pune. None of the little ones are aware they are fatherless, though it has been two months since the death of Sultana’s husband.
“I was pregnant when he passed away in late April. My children still think their father is in the hospital,” the 31-year-old said.
This is the highest number of suicides recorded since 2012.
This increase was observed in all age groups, with a 7 per cent increase in number of suicides for youths aged 10 to 29 years old and middle-aged adults aged 30 to 59 years old.
The number of elderly, age 60 and above, who took their own lives was the highest since 1991.
The 154 deaths was a 26 per cent increase from 2019.
While there were a higher number of suicides, there was a small drop in the number of calls made by the elderly to the SOS 24-hour Hotline from 4,816 in 2019 to 4,455 in 2020.
Among those who revealed their age, calls made by the elderly in 2020 dropped from 20 per cent to 17 per cent.