The long period of lockdown took a toll on the mental health of people. Doctors at Columbia Asia Hospital in Gurugram say an astounding 70 per cent patients contemplated suicide.

“As many as seven out of every ten patients, we counselled, said they felt suicidal during the lockdown, as against five to seven people in pre-lockdown period,” says Dr Shweta Sharma, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurugram.

Stating that suicide should be considered as a socio-medical problem, Psychologist Loveleen Malhotra at Aakash Healthcare & Super Speciality Hospital, Dwarka, says, “In the past two months, we received about 50 people who had suicidal thoughts. What is more worrying is that this number included children too.”