TN youth commits suicide just before discharge from Covid-19 care centre

TENKASI: A 22-year-old Covid-19 positive youth ended his life by hanging in his room at a Covid care centre at in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu Tuesday morning. This is the second suicide case in a Covid care centre in Tenkasi in less than two weeks.
The youth, who was to be discharged on Tuesday, took his life due to depression. The Puliyangudi police have registered a case under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedures.
A Muthukumar, 22, of Veerasigamani village worked in a private finance firm and tested positive for Covid-19 on July 27. “He was taken to the Covid care centre functioning in a private college at Puliyangudi on July 28 as he was asymptomatic. There were 94 people in the care centre and he was among the three persons in a room,” a health department official said.
Around 8am, his two roommates, who had gone to take a shower, returned to see him hanging from the ceiling fan. The dead body was taken to Tenkasi District Government Hospital for autopsy and was later handed over to his family.
“Preliminary inquiries revealed that he died of Covid-19 related depression caused by the fear of how he would be treated by his village folks. He was also upset that nobody from his family called him over the last few days,” said Puliyangudi inspector S Alexraj.
On July 24, Marikani, 52, a Covid-19 patient, from Vasudevanallur village in the district hanged himself from the gate of a care centre in a college due to depression.
A health department official said that they give counselling and yoga classes for all patients brought to the care centres. “Following the two incidents, we are planning to intensify counselling at the care centres from Wednesday and also introduce activities that will relieve them from stress,” said an official in the district administration.