COVID-19 and suicide: When crises collide

Abstract

Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide. Even before the emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 COVID-19 pandemic, suicide continued to be a major public health concern. Globally, someone dies by suicide every 40 s, and for each death, there are 20 more persons attempting suicide. A recently published article rightly stated the need for a 'population-based approach' to suicide prevention to mitigate suicide attempts. This paper further adds that there must be a stronger multi-agency or multi-sectoral approach to suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. This paper concludes with few suggestions on how to address the COVID-19-related suicide cases as the world continues to fight against the double pandemic.