PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian society needs to be more sensitive to suicidal behaviour among their family members and friends, while individuals need to be more respectful of those suffering from such issues, the Health director-general urged.

       Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the number of suicide cases reported to the police rose to 631 in 2020 from 609 the previous year.

       “Up until March this year, a total of 336 suicide cases have already been reported to the police.

       “The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the mental health of individuals all over the world, including Malaysia.

       “Some individuals have a higher risk of suffering from mental health issues including depression, especially when under tremendous stress or isolated from a support network of friends and family.

       “If depression is not addressed or treated, it can contribute to the risk of suicidal behaviour.

       “Therefore, the public is urged to be more aware of family members and people around them who may display signs of depression that could lead to suicide, ” he said.

       He also called on members of the public to be respectful by not sharing videos or images of individuals who had died by suicide.

       Meanwhile, he said 6,437 more confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday.

       The last time the country recorded more than 6,000 cases was on June 18 when there were 6,440 new infections.

       In his daily Covid-19 press update, Dr Noor Hisham said the country’s cumulative total cases now stood at 745, 703.

       Over half of the new cases were in the Klang Valley, with 2,299 in Selangor and 1,361 in Kuala Lumpur.Most of Selangor’s cases were traced from close contacts of positive patients, numbering at 1,341 infections or 58%.

       Another 850 cases in the state were sporadic infections, 98 were related to clusters while 12 were import cases.

       Also, 716 or 52% of Kuala Lumpur’s infections were linked to clusters.

       The country also recorded a surge in Covid-19 deaths, with 107 fatalities recorded in the space of 24 hours up to noon yesterday.

       The national Covid-19 death toll is now 5,108.

       Dr Noor Hisham said 43 of the deaths were reported in Selangor.

       Other states with Covid-19 fatalities were Negri Sembilan (16), Kuala Lumpur (11), Kedah (seven), Melaka (seven), Johor (six), Sabah (four), Kelantan (four), Labuan (four), Sarawak (two), Pahang (two) and Terengganu (one).

       Eight of the deceased were foreign nationals while the rest were locals.

       The youngest casualty was a 34-year-old diabetic man who died at Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

       There were also 14 cases classified as “brought in dead”.

       Currently, 905 patients are being treated in intensive care units, with 455 on ventilator support.

       The number of active cases has gone up to 62,844.

       Another 27 new Covid-19 clusters were identified, of which 13 were community outbreaks.